She Is My Sin
by sofia313
Summary: When Klaus slaughters Katherine's family, he abducts her sister in order to make her to continue the Petrova bloodline, hoping eventually to get another doppelganger. Liliya Petrova hates her capturer, why shouldn't she also hate his family?
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Bulgaria, 1492

"Why do you have to go?"

Katerina tried to smile; her soft fingers tucked a stray hair behind my ear.

"I…brought shame to our family and now I must pay the price," she said quietly.

Tears were rolling down my cheeks, I clung my sister, wanting to keep her with me. What would I do without her?

"No…Father can not send you away, there has to be some other way…"

Katerina's eyes were watering up, but she shook her head.

"No, little one, there is no other way. You must not blame father, I brought this on myself."

"But…"

"You must be strong Liliya, mother and father will need you after I am gone. Help Grigor to look after them. Promise me."

I swallowed my tears and nodded.

"I promise."

Katerina ran her fingers over my cheek and hugged me.

"I wish I could see you to become a woman, little one, all the men in the village will fight for your attention. But do not make the same mistakes I did."

I nodded; I was too embarrassed to admit that I couldn't completely understand what her mistake had been. Our mother had called it a sin, our father whoring. Grigor hadn't called it anything, he had only snorted contemptuously. I knew what a sin was, at least I thought so, but no one had explained to me what whoring meant. I should know about these things, I would be 13 soon. Katerina pulled away and cupped my face.

"You must remember that men can not be trusted, they will say the sweetest things, but they only want to violate you. You must not let them do that, not before you are married, otherwise you will end up like me. Do you understand?"

Her tone was very serious and it scared me a little, but I nodded, trying to look like an adult.

"I will not let any man to violate me," I assured firmly.

Katerina smiled and kissed my forehead.

"Good."

Her eyes were watering up again before she hugged me tightly.

"I will miss you so much, little one."

"I will miss you too," I sobbed, never wanting to let go.

"Katerina," father said impatiently from the door. "It is time to go."

"I am coming, father," she said and dried her eyes. "Be strong, little one."

"Wait," I said and grabbed her hand. "I have something for you."

She looked surprised when I handed her a piece of paper. I had drawn her picture of me, father, mother and Grigor, so she wouldn't forget us.

"Liliya…this is…"

"You do not like it?" I asked insecurely when she didn't continue.

She laughed, wiping off the tears that were coursing down her cheeks.

"I love it; this is the most thoughtful gift anyone has ever given to me."

"Katerina!" father shouted from outside.

She hugged me one more time.

"I love you, little one."

"I love you too."

We both were crying when she pulled away and walked out the door. I couldn't follow her; I collapsed on the floor and cried. I would never see my sister again.

* * *

**I know this is a short prologue, what do you think, continue or not?**


	2. Here comes the monster

**Thank you so much for all of your reviews, favs and alerts, I wasn't expecting so much feedback so quickly :) Here's the first chapter, I'm almost done with the next one.**

**Chapter 1**

**Here comes the monster**

Picking up mushrooms was a chore I had always enjoyed. It allowed me to take a walk in the woods, enjoying peace and quiet. Our small cottage had been very quiet lately, mother barely talked at all and father seemed tired all the time, like he would have suddenly aged years. Grigor had never been much of a talker anyway, he spent most of his time outdoors hunting and taking care of our small field. Usually I enjoyed the silence, but now I missed all the sounds, talking and laughing, but it seemed like all the joy would have vanished when Katerina left.

She had been away for over 7 months and I still thought about her every day. She hadn't sent any letters, but that wasn't a surprise, neither of us could read or write and I knew that it was expensive to use a scribe, especially one that could write Bulgarian. I wondered if there even was such scribe in England. Father was the only one in our household who could read, Grigor have had a chance to learn, but he wasn't interested.

I had picked up more than enough mushrooms for the stew and I was about to head back home when I ran into few other girls from the village. One of them was Mascha, the girl whose brother had ruined Katerina's reputation. He had said terrible things about her to everyone in the village.

"How is your sister?" Mascha asked mockingly. "I heard that she works as a harlot now."

All the other girls started to laugh; I did like mother had told me to do and ignored them. I turned around and started to walk away.

"Everyone thinks that you are just like your sister," Mascha continued. "My brother said that you will spread your legs for the first man who asks."

I stopped walking and turned slowly back to the girls. They were laughing when I moved in front of Mascha and smiled.

"At least my nose is not bleeding," I said calmly.

She looked confused.

"What?"

I smiled and punched her on the face, just like Grigor had taught me to do in case someone would harass me. I doubted that I broke Mascha's nose, but she definitely bled and screamed like I would have stabbed her.

"Crazy harlot! You just wait when I tell my father about this!"

That should have definitely worried me, her father was the wealthiest man in the village, but at the moment I was too pleased with myself to care. I almost whistled when I headed home, I felt better than weeks. Unfortunately the feeling didn't last for long; I started to realize the consequences of what I had just did. I was sure that I would be punished, but that had still been worth it. I had been spanked before for acting improperly, someone as old as me should know better, not to mention a woman should never act like that.

I was a little nervous when I reached our cottage; I had to tell father before someone else would. I really hoped that I wouldn't have to. Suddenly I noticed a strange horse in front of the stable; it seemed that we had a guest. I was relieved, at least I wouldn't have to tell father right away. Judging by the fancy saddle, our guest was someone who had money. Oh no, could Mascha's father be here already? I thought about hiding in the woods, but that wouldn't help, I would only be more in trouble. I took a deep breath and marched inside with my mushroom basket. The first thing I saw was that Grigor was lying on the floor.

"Grigor!" I cried out and kneeled next to him. When I touched his face I knew that he was dead, but I refused to accept that. Then I saw father, he was also lying on the floor.

"No…"

I was already in shock, but the sound of something dropping on the floor made me to look up. There was a man standing next to the wall, he had just dropped my mother's body. Her eyes were open, but there was no light in them, she was gone. My mouth opened, I wanted to scream, but nothing came out. Slowly the man turned around and looked at me. He wasn't a man; his face was a face of a monster, his eyes turning darker and darker as he callously glanced at me. And then he smiled, blood dripping off his sharp canine teeth. I had never believed in monsters, but now I knew I was looking at death itself. My mind was screaming at me, telling me to run, but how could anyone outrun death? I didn't have time to even blink when he was in front of me, yanking me to my feet. He said something, but I couldn't understand him. He frowned and tried again in Bulgarian.

"_Are you a Petrova?"_

I couldn't have answered him even if I would have wanted to; my whole body was completely numb. All I could do was staring at the darkness in his eyes. I couldn't move, his grip was keeping me in place.

"_Answer me, girl,"_ he demanded and squished my arm so forcefully that I cried out.

"_Go to hell!"_ I shouted at the top of my lungs. Not very smart, but what more could he possible take from me? I had to shut the pain out, I was sure that I would be with my family soon. The monster looked almost surprised, then he laughed.

"_Oh, you are a Petrova alright, I can smell it."_

I shivered when he leaned towards me, sniffing my neck. Before I realized what was happening, he grabbed my hips and threw me over his shoulder. I screamed, pounded on his back, kicked as hard as I could, but that didn't even slow him down, one blink and we were next to his horse. He placed me on the ground in front of him and grabbed my chin.

"_You will not make a sound unless I tell you to; you will not fight or do anything except obey me."_

I wanted to shout at him, but I couldn't. Instinctively I touched my throat and tried again, but nothing came out. What had he done to me? I looked up and saw that my terror amused him, he was grinning.

"_See now? For now on you will do exactly what I say."_

I felt my eyes watering up; I had never hated myself so much in my life. He didn't seem pleased either.

"_No crying,"_ he ordered making me to immediately stop. My terror was growing, was he using some dark magic to control me? I couldn't fight when he positioned me on top of his horse and mounted himself behind me. Desperately I tried to turn my head, I wanted to see my home, but he didn't allow that. My family was dead… I would have cried now if I could have, but I wasn't able to shed a tear.


	3. The same blood

**Again, thank you all for your reviews, favs and alerts :)**

**Chapter 2**

**The same blood**

I couldn't move, I couldn't speak and I felt like I couldn't even breathe. My mind was screaming, but I was like a prisoner inside my own body. The feeling was terrifying and I was panicking, but I couldn't show it in any way. Feeling the monster's body against mine certainly didn't help, his chest was like stone. His arms were around me tightly like shackles, there was nothing I could do to defend myself. I had never felt so helpless and the pain of losing my family was devastating.

I couldn't cry, all I could do was sit here and let the monster to do what ever he was planning to do. What could he possibly want from me, why couldn't he just kill me and get it over with. I had never been this close to a man and I didn't like it, especially when that man was a monster who had murdered my family.

Then the shocking thought hit me, was he going to violate me before killing me? I was 13, most men thought that I was too young, but why would a monster care about that? All the knowledge I had about those things was pits and pieces, something from Katerina, something from mother, but that kind of violence was one of the worst things that could happen to any woman. That had happened to one of Katerina's friends and she had drowned herself, she hadn't wanted to live with the shame.

Katerina's shame had been different, she had been with a man willingly without marriage, I understood that now. Mother had explained it to me after Katerina had left. My sister had loved this man and thought that he loved her, according to mother there was nothing as foolish as a woman who believed what men said and let them under her skirt before marriage. But there was nothing I could do to stop him, this monster; the thought filled me with even deeper desperation. We had passed the village when I saw a fancy carriage on the side of the road. I had never seen that kind of carriage before. He had dismounted before I even noticed him moving and he lifted me down just as quickly.

"_Come,"_ he said without even looking at me. My legs moved against my will, following him to the carriage. He opened the door and shoved me inside. I lost my balance and fell on someone's feet. A woman's voice started to talk, but I couldn't understand her. The monster replied something before getting in and yanking me up. The next thing I noticed was that I was sitting on a soft seat opposite the woman who was looking at me callously.

She had covered her curly black hair with a white scarf and her eyes were dark brown. I wasn't sure how old she was, older than Katerina but younger than mother. The monster sat down next to me and continued talking. I couldn't understand a word they were saying and I couldn't even interpret the woman's facial expressions since she didn't have any. Her voice was calm and smooth and when the monster talked, he had her undivided attention. I recognized my family name; they both said it few times. Something about blood… The monster was going to kill me, I was sure of it now.

"What do you think, can it work? She is basically the same bloodline, is she not?" the monster said. He had probably asked some kind of question; the woman looked thoughtful before she replied.

"Yes, and I can not see any reason why it could not work, but you must understand that it can take generations before the next doppelganger is born."

"Oh, I have time to wait, and besides, I do not think that she can bear a child yet, she is too young."

"I am glad that you think so, I would certainly wait at least two years before getting her pregnant, her pelvis is too thin now and she is definitely too skinny. Not to mention you need to find a suitable human male."

I tried desperately to understand what they were saying, but to me it was nothing but gibberish. Then they both turned to look at me.

"I want to know that she is fertile," the monster said. "Otherwise she is useless."

The woman nodded.

"I can easily find that out. Tell her to lie down."

I tried to back away when the monster stood up.

"_Lie down and hold still,_" he said in Bulgarian.

I was terrified, I tried to fight, but my body gave in immediately. My heart was pounding like a drum when I lied down on the seat. The monster sat down opposite me and crossed his arms when the woman kneeled next to me.

"Perhaps you should calm her down," the woman muttered. "She seems to be panicking."

The monster looked at me and laughed.

"_Relax, little girl"_ he said.

Was he kidding? The woman grabbed the hem of my blue dress and pulled it up. No, no, please, this couldn't be happening… Why couldn't I fight or scream or even cry? Why did I have to be so weak and helpless? The woman exposed my legs and stomach; I was praying that she wouldn't touch my knickers. The monster kept staring at me, I felt completely humiliated. I forced myself to look at him and I couldn't understand what I was seeing. He wasn't looking at me like I had seen some men looking at Katerina, he was observing me, like a man who tried to decide whether to buy that new cow or not.

Maybe he was even slightly curious, but at least he was enjoying my humiliation. I pressed my lips together when I felt the woman's hands touching my stomach. Desperately I tried to move my hands or my legs or any part of my body, but I couldn't. I even tried to scream, even though I knew that he had somehow taken my voice away.

"Honestly, Klaus, can you tell her that I am not going to hurt her?" the woman said. "Even I can hear her heart pounding."

"She is fine. Continue."

The woman's hands stopped moving and I felt a warm wave going through my body. I was panicking, what was she doing? Her eyes were closed and she kept mumbling words I couldn't understand. I closed my eyes too; I didn't want to show the monster my terror. Yet I felt his gaze the whole time.

"She is most definitely fertile," the woman said.

I opened my eyes when I heard her voice. The monster seemed pleased, he was smiling.

"Wonderful. Let's go then, we have a long journey ahead of us."


	4. A little snack for the road

**Chapter 3**

**A little snack for the road**

I had never thought that there could be things worse than death, not before the monster cast his spell on me. Now I was suffocating inside my body and there was nothing I could do about it. I felt some invisible weight pressing my chest, it was killing me. All the pain I felt was bottling up somewhere inside of me, I had no way to let it out. A part of me was broken; I couldn't feel what I needed to feel.

We had traveled for two weeks now, but the days started to lose all meaning, I had no free will. Every morning I woke up and got in the carriage like he told me to do, we stopped and I ate, like he told me to do and before it was dark we stopped again and I slept, like he told me to do. He talked with his companion, I couldn't understand them. When ever he spoke to me, he ordered me to do something and I had no choice but to obey. To me this truly was worse than death. I still didn't know what he was going to do to me, but I didn't have strength left to be afraid anymore.

I stared at the plate in front of me; we had stopped for the night. All the taverns had started to look the same to me; I couldn't taste the food I was eating. There were so many people around me and I couldn't ask them to help me, I could only sit here like a statue. The monster hadn't ordered me to eat, so I didn't, I merely stared at my plate. The stew smelled good, the bread was fresh and the apples looked delicious, but I didn't touch any of them. It took a moment before the monster noticed that, he was talking with his companion.

"_Why are you not eating?"_ he asked.

I swallowed, I was able to speak when he asked me something, but I was almost afraid to use my voice.

"_I am not hungry."_

My voice sounded strange, I had barely used it at all during the last days. He frowned and moved closer to me.

"_Are you sick?"_

Why would he possibly care about that? I flinched when he touched my forehead.

"_No,"_ I murmured.

He glanced at me for a moment and turned to the woman. They talked, I didn't care that I didn't understand them. He didn't seem pleased when he turned to look at me.

"_You must eat, little girl,"_ he stated.

"_Liliya,"_ I muttered.

"_What?"_

Slowly I looked up; I was so full of rage that he must saw it in my eyes.

"_My name is Liliya. I am the daughter of Vasil and Olga Petrova, sister of Grigor Petrova, they were all good people who you killed and I swear that someday you will pay for it."_

I had no idea where those words had come from, but the monster looked surprised before he burst into laughter.

"_Oh, if you only knew who you are talking to, little girl… Well, you will learn soon enough. But right now your body needs some nourishment."_

I pressed my lips together.

"_Why? What do you want from me?"_

He smiled.

"_I want you to keep your mouth shut and eat, starting right now."_

I hated my hand for forcing food in my mouth and my teeth for biting it. I hated my whole body, almost as much as I hated him. I tried to spit the food out, but I couldn't do even that. Once again I was completely helpless.

"_There, that was not so difficult now, was it?"_ he asked smiling after I had finished my forced supper.

I didn't look at him; I hoped that he would be struck by a lightning. Other people in the tavern were talking and laughing, they had no idea how lucky they were. Silently I followed the monster and the woman to our room. It was the nicest one in the tavern, as usual. And as usual the monster went out after ordering me to stay in the room until he would return. The woman and I didn't talk for several reasons, I wasn't able to talk and even if I would have been, we couldn't understand each other, apparently she didn't speak Bulgarian.

It was already dark outside, but few candles lighted the room. I noticed that the innkeeper's wife had prepared a bath; the woman was probably planning to bathe. I sat on my bed when she started to talk to me, pointing at me and the bathtub. I shook my head; the last thing I wanted was to be naked when the monster would return. The woman sighed and continued talking, although she must knew I couldn't understand her. She pointed at the door and shook her head, assuring me that the monster wasn't coming.

I hesitated, the warm bath did sound inviting. The woman kept talking with her calm voice and carried a chair in front of the door. She pointed at the door again and shook her head. I still wasn't sure about this, but what did I have to lose, if the monster wanted to see me naked, all he had to do was order me. The woman looked at me reassuringly and it seemed that she even tried to smile. That certainly didn't come natural to her; I was surprised that she was even capable of showing any kind of feelings. I wasn't stupid enough to trust her, she was the monster's companion, but she hadn't harmed me.

After a moment of hesitation, I gave her a cautious nod and started to undress. She sat on the chair and looked away; apparently she wanted to give me some privacy. I touched the water with my toes before stepping in the tub, it felt divine. Despite of everything, I sighed and felt my body relaxing. I even dared to close my eyes, imagining that I was somewhere far away. The weight on my chest was still there, but for a very short moment I was able to ignore it.

That moment didn't last long; I winced when I heard someone opening the door. The woman stood up and tried to stop this person from entering the room, but he marched in anyway. It wasn't the monster, it was some strange man. I curled my legs up against my chest and wrapped my arms around them, trying desperately to cover myself. The man didn't seem to even notice me; he was talking to the woman.

"Joanne, it has been a while. You have stayed with my brother I see."

If I wasn't mistaken, the woman didn't seem pleased to see this man.

"Yes and as you can see, he is not here at the moment."

The man grinned.

"Oh come on, why so serious? Of course I had to come and say hi when I heard that he is in town. What brings you two in this part of Europe anyway, I thought that England and France are more Nik's style."

"With all due respect, master Kol, that is none of your business."

The man chuckled.

"Oh Joanne, how I have missed your delightful personality."

I was afraid to move, I hoped that the man would leave before he would notice me. Of course that didn't happen; he frowned when he saw me.

"Well, what have we here? A little snack for the road?"

He took a step towards me, but the woman blocked his way.

"My apologies, but she belongs to master Klaus. Surely you know that he does not share."

The man seemed amused, I was shaking.

"She seems quite young; I assume that Nik is keeping her because of her blood."

"Yes, that is correct," the woman replied tensely.

I didn't look up, but I could feel the man's gaze.

"Hmm, she must be delicious then. I am sure that Nik won't mind me having a little taste…"

"Yes, I am afraid that he does mind. I am sure that he will be back soon, perhaps you would like to wait for him downstairs."

The man snorted.

"And perhaps you would like to watch your tongue, Joanne, I am afraid that patience isn't one of my virtues. What's your name, little human?"

"She can not understand you, she is from Bulgaria."

"Oh, Bulgaria you say? I know few Bulgarian words. _How are you this evening, pretty lady?"_

I looked up when I heard words I could understand. His pronunciation was terrible, but I could still understand him. Something about him reminded me of the monster. His smirk and the way he looked at me, like I would be some kind of amusing animal.

"_What is your name?"_

I didn't say anything, I couldn't have even if would have wanted to. He frowned.

"Are you sure that she is Bulgarian?"

"Yes, but she is not very smart, there is no point talking to her," the woman said.

The man shrugged.

"Fine, I am bored anyway. Nik can keep her; I believe I will have a drink downstairs while waiting for him."

He winked at me before turning to the door.

"_See you later, little human."_

I wrapped my arms tighter around myself; apparently that amused him. I was grateful when he was gone; the woman closed the door behind him. She seemed tense when she handed me a bathrobe. All I wanted was to get dressed as quickly as possible, in case the man would come back. I didn't know who he was, but I was pretty sure that I didn't want to run into him again.


	5. I won't be denied

**Chapter 4**

**I won't be denied**

"_Liliya! The supper is ready!"_

"_I am coming, mother!"_

_I smiled and hummed while picking up some flowers, they would look nice on the table. I wanted everything to be perfect. Everyone was already at the table when I walked inside. I kissed father's cheek when I passed him and sat down next to Grigor. Mother was smiling, she looked happy._

"_Let us say grace," father said._

_I bowed my head and closed my eyes. No one said anything. That was strange, usually father said the grace. I waited and waited, but the silence remained so I opened my eyes. They were all dead, covered with blood, worms and flies. Their eyes were empty, but they all were looking at me. I tried to get up, but I couldn't move. I tried to scream, but I couldn't make a sound. No, no, no…_

I opened my eyes in panic, my heart was pounding fast. I couldn't breathe, something was smothering me.

"What is wrong with your blood pet?"

I couldn't understand the words, but the man's voice made me to realize where I was. Three pairs of eyes were looking at me, apparently I had fallen asleep. I had no idea how that was possible when I was in the carriage with the monster, his companion and the strange man who apparently was the monster's friend. They were sitting opposite me and the woman was sitting next to me.

"I have no idea," the monster said. "I would guess that she had a nightmare."

The man glanced at me and smiled.

"She is kind of cute, like... Oh, I don't know; a kitten maybe. Where did you find her?"

"From Bulgaria," the monster replied.

The man rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I suspected that much. Is she a souvenir or something?"

"Yes, you could say that."

They both looked at me; I still tried to calm down.

"Are you planning to offer me a taste?" the man asked.

"No," the monster replied.

"Oh come on, Nik, you are being rude. That is the reason why she is here, is it not?"

"She belongs to me and I am the only one who will feed on her."

I tried to back away when the man leaned towards me and grabbed my chin.

"I can not see any bite marks."

I slapped his hand as hard as I could; I was surprised by the fact that I could actually do that. Apparently the monster's order didn't prevent me from defending myself against someone else than him. The man chuckled.

"Well, well, she is a feisty little human. I see you have not trained her yet."

Although I couldn't understand what he was saying, I knew that it wasn't anything nice.

"Enough, Kol," the monster snapped. "I do not think you would like someone touching your property."

The man shrugged and leaned back on his seat. I looked at the monster, hoping that he would explain to me what was going on. Why was this man here and who was he? He had simply joined us this morning.

"_Everything is fine,"_ the monster said callously. Apparently that was all he was going to say to me. I turned to the window, trying to find more comfortable position on my seat.

"So, you are staying in Hungary?" the monster said.

The man nodded.

"Yes, I have few things to take care of. It was very kind of you to offer me a ride."

The monster rolled his eyes.

"I would say that you invited yourself."

"What, you are not happy to see me?"

"Of course, but we have a long journey back to England, especially since I have humans with me, no offence Joanne."

"None taken," the woman replied calmly, she seemed to be concentrated on her embroidery.

"The girl is slowing us down a lot."

The man looked curious.

"She must be quite a delicacy if you are willing to travel slower because of her."

The monster frowned.

"Do not get any ideas, as I said, she belongs to me."

"Of course, brother, I understand."

I wrapped my arms around me, I felt tired. Every time when I fell asleep or even closed my eyes, I saw my family. The thought would have brought tears to my eyes, if I would have been able to cry. The weight on my chest felt worse every day, it was like a robe around my neck, slowly choking me. At some point I fell asleep again, but my nightmares didn't allow me to rest.

I thought about poor Katerina, she didn't know what had happened to our family and it was possible that she would never know. I prayed that she was safe and happy, where ever she was. That was a comforting thought; I imagined her finding some nice man and starting a family. She deserved to be happy. I knew that I would probably never see her again, but thinking about her helped me a little.

The day went by fast, just like all the other ones. We stopped couple of hours before the dark when we arrived at some village. I had never been this far from home; I didn't even know where we were. People didn't speak Bulgarian; they hadn't for a while, so we were already in some other country; that much I knew. Unfortunately I didn't know much about any other countries; I had never traveled or even saw any kind of map.

My guess was that we were in Hungary, but I couldn't be sure. The tavern was just like all the other ones, I ate although I couldn't really taste the food. The place was full of people, but I was alone, locked inside my own prison. All the words I heard were strange to me, for a moment I was actually so lonely that I hoped that the monster would speak to me; I needed to hear words I could understand. He hadn't paid much attention to me today; he had talked with his friend. They still kept talking and laughing while enjoying their steins.

"_Time to go to sleep, little girl,"_ he finally said.

I looked up and tried to speak. He frowned.

"_What is it?"_

"_Where are we?"_

"_In Hungary."_

"_Why?"_

He rolled his eyes.

"_Always with the questions… That is not something you need to know. Now come, you seem tired."_

The man stayed at the table when the monster, the woman, and I stood up. He had completely ignored me for a while now, but that certainly wasn't a bad thing. Another nice room and the same order.

"_You will stay in this room until I say otherwise."_

Then he left. The woman seemed irritated; if I wasn't mistaken she didn't like the monster's friend. That was kind of interesting. She stood in front of the window with her arms crossed and looked outside. There was a water bowl on the table next to my bed, so I washed up before lying down. I didn't want to go to sleep and face my nightmares, but I was exhausted. I was almost asleep when I heard the woman's footsteps, it almost sounded like she opened the door and walked out. No more than a second later I was asleep. This time I didn't have time to have any nightmares, I woke up when someone pressed his hand on my mouth.

"_Shh, shh, little human, not a sound."_

My eyes widened with terror when I realized that I was looking into the dark eyes of the monster's friend. He was smiling down at me.

"I hate when people try to deny things from me," he said with a different language, I couldn't understand. He leaned closer and I saw black veins appearing under his eyes. I was panicking; he was just like the monster. When he smiled, I saw his canine teeth. My heart was pounding violently in my chest when I felt his thumb touching my neck.

"No need to worry, I shall only have a little taste."

I tried to scream when he leaned even closer, I felt a sharp pain in my neck. He was biting me; the terror spread immediately through my body. My hands went on his chest, trying desperately to push him away. It was useless, he was too strong. My whole body was trembling when he suddenly stopped. I was probably in some kind of shock, I was gasping for air.

"Not bad," he murmured, licking his bloody lips.

In that moment I was almost grateful that I couldn't cry, I was completely numb. He grabbed my chin and made me to look at him.

"Now, let's clean up this mess."

He bit his wrist and forced me to swallow his blood. It was disgusting, I gagged and tried to fight him, but the whole thing was over fast. He examined my neck and seemed satisfied.

"There, all better."

I glared at him; I was full of silent rage. Clearly that amused him.

"So feisty…Too bad you are not a little older."

He forced an eye contact and I saw his pupils dilating.

"_This is going to be my little secret, you will…_" he paused and looked annoyed. "What the hell is the word, forget, forget… Alright, let's try something else… _You will not tell anyone about this."_

I nodded obediently; he was using the same kind of magic than the monster. I hated them both. He was gone before I even managed to blink. I curled into a fetal position and rocked myself calmingly, he was gone, everything was alright. I wanted to laugh. Nothing was alright and I doubted that ever would be.


	6. Welcome home

**Thank you so much for your reviews, favs and alerts :)**

**Chapter 5**

**Welcome home**

"I am serious, Klaus. Look at her."

"Yes, I can see her just fine. She had not caused any trouble and she does what I say when I say it. What is the problem?"

"_Look_ at her."

"I am looking. Again, what is the problem?"

The woman snorted.

"Can you not see that she is not well?"

"What are you talking about, she is not sick…"

Gibberish, gibberish, gibberish… I didn't know or care what they were talking about. I didn't care about anything, why should I. So many days had passed by, I had no idea how long we had traveled. There was nothing good in this world anymore; no joy or laughter. I couldn't even feel the weight on my chest; it had somehow become a part of me. I was broken; I couldn't laugh or cry; that part of me was gone.

It was easier not to care, what difference would it make. How could I fight against this monster who could make my body to do what ever he wanted. At least he hadn't bit me like his friend who had stayed in Hungary. When we had parted, he had kissed my hand, winked and thanked me for my entertaining company. He had hoped to meet me again soon. What a bastard. I leaned back on my seat and wrapped my arms around me.

"Fine," the monster snapped. "_Little girl?"_

I gritted my teeth before I looked up; I hated to be called that.

"_Is everything alright?"_

I couldn't believe that he had just asked that, was that supposed to be some kind of joke.

"_No,"_ I murmured.

His eyes narrowed.

"_Perhaps I should be more specific, is everything physically alright with you?"_

I turned my head away. For some reason he was so very concerned about my physical wellbeing.

"_I suppose so."_

"_Good. We shall arrive to England after few days."_

I gasped.

"_To England?"_

"_Yes."_

Suddenly I felt a glimpse of hope, Katerina was in England, maybe I would run into her… And then the monster could kill her or capture her. My hope vanished; I could never let him know about Katerina. I had figured out that for some reason my family or my blood interested him, but I had no idea what he was going to do to me. Usually he didn't answer to any of my questions, but maybe I should try now when he seemed chattier.

"_What are we doing in England?"_

"_I live there,"_ he replied. _"So will you for now on."_

"_Why?"_

He smiled.

"_Because you belong to me."_

"_No,"_ I murmured angrily.

He raised an eyebrow and leaned towards me.

"_What was that, I did not quite hear you?"_

I swallowed, but I forced myself to look at him.

"_I do not belong to anyone."_

He looked at me for a moment and smiled.

"_We shall see about that, little girl. But I advice you to reconsider your attitude, you are certainly not helping yourself now."_

"_What do you want from me?"_ I asked quietly.

He sighed and crossed his arms, apparently I was boring him.

"_All in good time, sweetheart."_

"_I am not your sweetheart…"_ I started angrily, but that was a mistake, his eyes darkened before he grabbed me.

"_Do not test my patience,"_ he growled. _"I can erase all the memories you have of your family, would you like that?"_

My eyes widened with terror, no, no, no, I couldn't let him do that. Those memories were all I had left.

"_No!"_

He looked at me attentively, like a predator that had just noticed that its prey was wounded. I had willingly handed him a weapon to use against me. How could I have been so stupid? He smiled and touched my hair, making me flinch.

"_If you ask nicely, I will perhaps allow you to keep your memories."_

I gritted my teeth and lowered my head. What choice did I have?

"_Please,"_ I murmured.

"_Pardon?" _

My body tensed, I hated him with every fibber of my being.

"_Please, do not take my memories."_

He smiled.

"_Perhaps you can keep them, for now. Tell me, who do you belong to?"_

Why was he doing this, was it so much fun to humiliate me? Just words, I could give him those.

"_You."_

"_Very good,"_ he said like I would be a dog that had just learned a new trick. _"I believe we will get along just fine."_

* * *

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw our destination. It was a castle, a real castle. The monster actually lived here? I stuck my head out of the window and stared at the tall stone walls. The carriage had just passed the gatehouse, guarded by some nasty looking men, and I saw a large courtyard. A young man was leading a horse towards the gate, some woman was carrying water buckets, two soldiers were talking, people were coming and going. Some man opened the carriage door and bowed.

"Welcome home, my lord."

The monster got out first and held out his hand for his companion.

"Thank you," she said calmly when he helped her down.

I didn't move, not before he told me to.

"_Come on, little girl, we do not have the whole day."_

I pressed my lips together when my body obeyed him, I hated when he touched me. He seemed impatient when he helped me down and started to drag me across the courtyard. All the people bowed and looked down when he passed them; it wasn't difficult to see that they were afraid of him. He didn't pay any attention to them, like they wouldn't even be there.

When we entered the castle, I saw a huge hall and many hallways. I had never seen anything like this before; the walls were very tall, there was a dome ceiling, stone pillars and large windows. The monster led me across a long hallway; there were many closed doors and torches hanging on the walls. When we reached a wide staircase, I had no idea where I was, the whole place was like a labyrinth. He shouted something and some man approached us as quickly as he could.

"Yes, my lord?"

Apparently the monster gave him some kind of instructions; the man bowed and went quickly up the stairs. I had a brief moment to look at the paintings hanging on the walls. Most of them were sceneries, beautiful places that didn't seem to belong here at all. The whole castle felt like a cold and dark place to me, I would have chosen my own small home any day. My home… I swallowed when the weight on my chest got heavier. I didn't think that would even be possible, but it was every time when I thought about my family or my home. I needed to somehow get my pain out, but I couldn't, the monster's spell didn't allow that.

"_Come on,"_ he said and led me upstairs.

More hallways, I didn't even try to remember the way back, what difference that would make. Finally he opened one of the doors. I gasped; I had never seen that kind of bedchamber. There was a canopy bed, a beautiful dresser, a huge bathtub, large painted window, soft rugs, paintings on the walls, a table and a chair, a wooden chest next to the bed and a fireplace. Two women were standing next to the bathtub; they curtsied when the monster entered the room.

"Is everything ready?" the monster asked.

"Yes, my lord, your messenger arrived here two days ago. We have prepared the room and a small wardrobe for the young lady, the tailor is ready to take her measurements if you wish to have gowns made for her…"

"What you have is fine for now; she will have more clothes later. Clean her up and make sure that she is ready before supper, she will dine with me tonight."

"Yes, my lord."

I looked at the monster and the women cautiously.

"_These women will assist you to take a bath and get dressed; you will stay here until I say otherwise. I want you to be ready when I come back."_

I looked at him disbelievingly.

"_I know how to take a bath and I certainly know how to get dressed, I do not need anyone to help me with that."_

He seemed amused.

"_You have a lot to learn, little girl. Do as I say."_

He turned to the women.

"She does not speak English, but she knows what to do."

The women seemed a little confused when they nodded and curtsied again before the monster left. I looked at them cautiously and they looked at me clearly loathingly.

"Unbelievable…" one of them muttered. "It looks that the local harlots are not enough for the lord; he must bring them from abroad as well. Where do you think this thing is from?"

"I have no idea, but she looks like some savage. At least the previous one spoke English and she had manners."

I backed away when they approached me, pointing at me and the bathtub.

"Oh great, she is stupid as well. You…go…into…a bathtub."

Yes, talking very slowly made me to miraculously understand what she was saying. I continued backing away and glared at them. Both women rolled their eyes.

"Stupid savage… How can we get her into the tub? She must be ready before the supper time."

"I can get Norman here to help us, he can lift her…"

"And what do you think the lord would do if some other man would touch his new toy?"

"But we have to do something…"

"Well I am not touching her, who knows what diseases she has…"

I walked past the women and looked at the bathtub. The monster wanted me to bathe so it was best to get it over with before he would return. Otherwise he might make me do it in front of him.

"Look. Good girl, good savage, get in there."

I didn't understand their words, but I certainly didn't appreciate their tone. Quickly I undressed and raised my other leg over the side of the tub. The sides were higher than I had got used to so I tripped and fell into the water. I was coughing when I get my head above the surface, the women were laughing.

"And clumsy too… Let's get this over with."

I startled when they were suddenly next to the tub, they started to rub me roughly with sponges. They had no right to touch me without my permission; I shook my head angrily and slapped their hands. They certainly didn't look pleased.

"He must have found her from some cave. Look at her, why he did not simply order us to dress up a pig?"

They both laughed, but at least they didn't try to touch me anymore. I couldn't enjoy the warm water; I simply cleaned myself up as quickly as I could. Maybe the women would leave me alone after that. They didn't, as soon as I was finished, they rubbed me with some cloth and dragged me towards the bed. I was cold; there was no fire in the fireplace, so I shivered and wrapped my arms around me. The women took their time, they were chatting while opening the wooden chest.

"All these clothes are too big for her."

"What difference does it make? We have to try and make her look tolerable."

"That is easier said than done."

Finally they picked up some piece of clothing and dressed me like I would have been a small child. I hated it, but I was too cold to fight, I was still shaking. After brushing my hair, certainly not gently, they left. I sat in front of the dresser and looked at my reflection in the mirror. I couldn't recognize myself, my eyes looked empty. I opened my mouth, but of course I couldn't make a sound.

Carefully I touched my face and the mirror, maybe this reflection wasn't me. Unfortunately it was. This pale, joyless creature really was me. That was kind of strange. Suddenly the door opened, I jumped to my feet as fast as I could. A man entered the room; he had brown hair and dark brown eyes. He stopped when he saw me and frowned. Instinctively I backed away, although I knew it was useless, I couldn't leave this room. Slowly he approached me shaking his head.

"Oh Niklaus…"

My back hit the wall; I was like cornered animal. He kept staring at me, if I wouldn't have known better; I would have thought that there was pity in his eyes.

"_No need to fear me, child,"_ he said calmly.

I looked at him cautiously, but he kept his distance.

"_My name is Elijah."_


	7. Feel

**Chapter 6**

**Feel**

I looked at the man standing in front of me, trying to figure out what he wanted. He had said that I didn't need to fear him, but it would have been stupid to believe him. It took a while before I realized that he expected me to say something.

"_Would you like to tell me your name?"_ he asked calmly. His Bulgarian was very good, better than the monster's. After a moment of hesitation I decided that there would be no harm in telling him my name, so I tried to, but of course I couldn't. He looked at me attentively when I opened my mouth few times before giving up.

"_You can not speak?"_

I shook my head.

"_Are you a mute?"_

I shook my head again.

He sighed.

"Compulsion…Alright…"

I tried desperately to find a way to escape when he took a step towards me.

"_Everything is alright,"_ he said softly, raising his hands in surrender. _"I will help you."_

There was no escape, I was trapped. He tried to place his hands on my shoulders, but I wasn't going to give up without a fight. I didn't know or even want to know what he was planning to do, so I kicked him on the leg, making him to let out a growl.

"What have Niklaus been doing to you…" he murmured and grabbed my hands before I managed to punch him.

"_Please stop that, I am not going to hurt you…"_

I kicked him again and struggled as hard as I could before he forced me to look at him. No, no, no, he was a monster too…

"_You are no longer required to obey anything you have been compelled to do,"_ he said with a soft, hypnotizing tone. Compelled? What did that mean? I blinked my eyes when his pupils were normal again and he released my hands. For a moment I couldn't do anything, the pain that I felt paralyzed me. The weight on my chest was gone, but like a dam it had held back everything I was feeling. Now that dam had cracked, slowly my whole body started to tremble. The man, Elijah, was looking at me cautiously, but I barely noticed him.

"_Child? Are you…"_

My first scream startled him, I was shouting at the top of my lungs. They were all gone, my family. My mother, my father, my brother. I could never go back home to them… I screamed and screamed, tears finally coursing down my cheeks. I didn't think that there were enough tears in the world to ease my pain.

"Oh dear…" Elijah murmured and tried to touch my shoulder.

I wasn't angry at him, he hadn't hurt me, but before I realized what I was doing, I was pounding on his chest with my fists, shouting furiously. He didn't try to stop me; he simply stood there allowing me to keep hitting him until all my strength was gone. My hands were shaking violently and it seemed that I had hurt more myself than him. With a weak sob I collapsed, but he caught me before I fell on the floor.

"_It's alright…"_ he murmured and lifted me up into his arms. I saw that he was taking me towards the bed, but I had no strength left to fight, all I could do was sob like a little girl. As soon as he placed me carefully on the bed, I curled into a fetal position and hugged myself tightly. Clumsily he tapped my back, he seemed very uncomfortable.

"_It's alright…"_

I barely noticed his presence, but it seemed that he wasn't planning to hurt me. Unfortunately that didn't stop more and more tears; I had never cried so much in my life. I couldn't even stop when the monster entered the room.

"What…what the hell have you done to her?" he snapped.

Elijah turned slowly to look at him.

"Are you honestly asking _me_ that question?" he replied icily.

The monster crossed his arms and glared at him.

"Answer me, Elijah. That human belongs to me and no one breaks her unless I say so. What did you do?"

Elijah stood up.

"I fixed the damage you have done, as much as it could be fixed. Honestly Niklaus, you must know at least something about the human mind and how it works…"

"I know enough and I am sure as hell not going to tolerate any whining and crying…"

I couldn't really hear them anymore; all the crying and screaming had exhausted me. Yet somehow I could breathe now when the weight was gone. I closed my eyes and started quietly to hum the lullaby mother had used to sing to me. I almost felt her leaning towards me, kissing my cheek and whispering good night.

"_Good night, mama,"_ I murmured before falling asleep.

* * *

Meanwhile in Hungary

What the hell had just happened? Kol had never experienced anything like it before and he certainly never wanted to experience anything like it ever again. Where the hell had all those damn feelings suddenly came from? The timing couldn't have been worse.

"Well…" the woman who was lying next to him murmured. "That was…different than I expected, knowing your reputation and all…"

Kol gritted his teeth; couldn't the damn woman just shut up?

"I am not saying that it was bad, I just have never seen a man crying during sex…"

She could never finish her sentence when Kol ripped her heart out with one fluent movement. That story would sure as hell never spread. It was a shame really, he had actually liked the mean little baby vamp, even though he hadn't been the one who had turned her. Not that it mattered, his reputation was far more important than her life.

Slowly he stood up and started to look for his clothes. Thankfully "the seizure" had passed; no more unwanted feelings. But seriously, what the hell had happened? One minute everything had been fine and he had been on top of the baby vamp and the next minute he had been in terrible pain. Not physical pain, that he could have managed, the pain had been purely emotional. That was crazy; in order to feel emotional pain a person should first be able to _feel_ in general, which he didn't. Either way he needed to get to the bottom of this and fast.


	8. Echoes

**Chapter 7**

**Echoes**

"Well?" Kol asked impatiently.

The woman who was sitting opposite him in the carriage looked thoughtful. She was wearing a gorgeous emerald gown that matched her eyes and judging by all her jewelry her "benefactors" had been more than generous. Bianka was a powerful witch who had no problem selling her services to anyone who was willing to pay. Curses, love spells, poisons, she did it all. Her eyebrows furrowed when she thought about all the information he had just given to her.

"Well…I would say that we are talking about a blood bond," she finally said with her very strong accent. "Have you recently…how do you say, shared your blood with someone?"

Kol frowned.

"What do you mean share my blood? You mean have I recently turned someone?"

She shook her head.

"Not necessarily. Have you taken someone's blood and given them your blood?"

Kol thought about it for a moment. Obviously he had taken blood from many people, but he hadn't given anyone his blood since… No, that couldn't be possible.

"Yes, but that was weeks ago."

Bianka looked at him attentively.

"Alright. And you did not kill this person?"

"No, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"I assume you know what a blood bond is?" Bianka asked.

Kol rolled his eyes.

"Yes, of course I do. Some pathetic vampires who are fond of their human pets exchange blood with them several times until they are connected, share each others feelings and so on. And before you ask, I have certainly never done that, only a fool would."

"But you recently exchanged blood with someone?"

"Yes, once," Kol snorted.

Bianka bit her bottom lip thoughtfully.

"Alright… Normally one time would not be enough, but…"

Kol didn't like the sound of that 'but'.

"What?" he snapped when she didn't continue.

"Some humans are more…what is the word… I suppose you could say amenable. Those kinds of humans are very rare and chances of a vampire to exchange blood with these particular individuals are more than slim, so…"

"What are you saying?" Kol asked callously. "I accidently created a blood bond?"

Bianka hesitated.

"I do not think it is a permanent blood bond, not unless you exchange blood with this human again…"

"I sure as hell will not," Kol interrupted her.

She nodded.

"Yes, you might experience some…echoes of her thoughts or feelings, but that should pass. I am afraid I can not explain why the feelings were suddenly so strong."

"Can it happen again?"

"Well…" Bianka paused and bit her lip. "I can not be absolutely sure, but I do not think it should happen again. Like I said, there might be some echoes, but they should eventually vanish."

"What if I kill this human?" Kol asked darkly. "There would be no echoes after that, correct?"

Bianka thought about it for a while.

"No, there should not be."

"Good."

Kol picked up a small bag of coins and handed it to Bianka. She was smart enough for not to count them, she simply thanked him and got out of his carriage. Kol crossed his arms and considered his options. He could travel to England right away and kill the little human, problem solved. Maybe she was Nik's blood pet, but he would probably be bored with her already when Kol would arrive to England.

Or then he could buy her from his brother or simply abduct her. On the other hand, there was no point of fighting with Nik over something so indifferent than a one little human; they both had better things to do. Perhaps he should simply wait; it was possible that Nik would kill the girl himself soon. If there wouldn't be any more "seizures" he had no reason to waste his time by traveling to England. Yes, he would wait and forget the whole annoying thing.

* * *

I was breathing fast when I woke up; I've had some strange dream I couldn't remember. My whole body felt strange and I allowed myself to calm down before I even tried to move. The bed was soft and comfortable and I felt a silky pillow under my head. I had never slept in this kind of bed before, but I couldn't really enjoy it. Finally I noticed that someone had tucked me in and there was a tray on the small table next to the bed.

There was some bread, an apple and a silver goblet. Slowly I got up to a sitting position and picked up the goblet. The liquid inside of it seemed to be water; I was thirsty so I took a cautious sip. It tasted normal, so I drank it all. I didn't touch the bread or the apple, I had no appetite. What was I supposed to do now? Get up maybe? My body didn't move; I was completely numb. Maybe I should just go back to sleep… I startled when the door opened and the monster marched in.

"_Good, you are awake,"_ he said. _"Today we shall talk about your new life here and certain rules you will obey."_

My thoughts were kind of hazy, but finally I managed to digest his words. My new life? Was he kidding?

"_Why…"_ I started hoarsely. Apparently my throat hadn't liked all that screaming. _"Why did you bring me here? What do you want?"_

He was quiet for a while and I doubted that he was planning to give me any answer. Cautiously I looked up and saw him observing me, he seemed tense. Finally he sighed.

"_I must say that you are one of the most difficult humans I have ever met… Alright, perhaps I can answer to __**some**__ of your questions. What is the most important thing you wish to know?"_

My eyes widened in surprise. There were so many things…

"_Are you a demon?"_ I heard myself asking. That certainly wasn't the most important question, but I had already blurted it out.

He frowned, but he didn't seem offended.

"_Yes, I suppose you can say that. Next question."_

This time I made sure that it was an important one.

"_Why am I here?"_

He looked at me attentively before he answered.

"_You are here to live a normal human life. You will eat, sleep, read books, dance, take walks or what ever you normally do."_

"_But why…"_

"_Because I say so,"_ he snapped. _"You will have everything you need here and I will have your obedience and that is not negotiable. I will not harm you unless you disobey me."_

I tried to understand what he was saying.

"_So…I am your prisoner?" _

He chuckled and waved his hand.

"_Take a look around you. Does this look like a prison cell to you?"_

No, it didn't, but that wasn't the point.

"_I am not allowed to leave?"_

He snorted and rolled his eyes.

"_No, you are not. Now the only question is do you want this to be pleasant or unpleasant?"_

Instinctively I wrapped my arms around me.

"_What do you mean?"_

He took few steps towards the bed, but I forced myself to hold still.

"_I have real prison cells,"_ he started smiling charmingly. _"I will show them to you today, but I can assure you that your current accommodation is much more…shall we say comfortable."_ He paused and let his words to sink in, I was determined not to show him any fear. _"But…"_ he continued. _"That is certainly not the worst thing I can do to you, oh no."_

He was right next to the bed now, leaning towards me. Somehow I managed not to move, but he must have picked up my fastened heartbeat.

"_I_ _can erase your every single memory; you would not remember your name, your home, your family, nothing. You would be nothing except an empty shell."_

Involuntary shivers raced down my spine and before I managed to stop myself, I let out a pathetic sob. I truly hated myself for it, especially when he wiped my tear off with his thumb.

"_Do not touch me,"_ I murmured angrily.

He smiled and sat down on the bed next to me.

"_Silly girl… You know, perhaps I should have already erased all your memories, that would have certainly made things easier, but I must admit that I like your feisty personality, it reminds me of…well, someone who I knew a long time ago."_

I looked at him disbelievingly, was he honestly saying that he…liked me?

"_Well, I hate you,"_ I blurted out before I managed to stop myself.

His eyes narrowed, I was sure that I had gone too far. I was expecting a hit but instead his lips curved into a cold and threatening smile. A predator's smile.

"_You can hate me all you want, it makes no difference to me, but when you are with me you will act like an obedient little pet or I will certainly punish you and believe me, when it comes to punishments, I can be very, very creative. This is the first and last warning you are going to get. Am I making myself clear?"_

A pet? I wanted to shout at him that I wasn't his pet, but that would have been extremely stupid, his tone told me that he was very much serious. I lowered my head and nodded.

"_Good,"_ he said and touched my hair. _"Any more questions?"_

I certainly had a question, but I hesitated before asking it, I was afraid that his answer would make me to attack him.

"_Why did you kill my family?"_

He seemed surprised, but that only lasted a second.

"_I had my reasons and someday I might tell you what they were, but this is not that day."_

I managed to stay surprisingly calm when I looked into his blue eyes, but I was full of hatred. I would never forgive him.

"_Are you done?"_ he asked sounding bored. _"I will now show you the places where you are allowed to move and then the tailor will take your measurements, you definitely need new clothes."_

I couldn't understand; I was his captive or pet or what ever, why did he possibly want to give me a room like this or new clothes? Surely he wanted something more than watch me to "live a normal human life".

"_Oh, I almost forgot,"_ he said and grabbed my chin, catching me off guard. _"You will not leave this castle unless I say so and you will not harm yourself in any way."_

What? I stared at him until he released me from his gaze and stood up.

"_Alright then,"_ he said cheerfully. _"It is time for a little tour."_


	9. A princess

**Chapter 8**

**A princess**

The castle was huge; I had no idea how long the tour lasted. I wasn't allowed to go to many parts of the castle, but the monster showed me the dungeons, as he had promised. The whole place was terrifying; cold, dark and filthy, I had never seen anything like it before. There were chained prisoners who tried to disappear in the shadows when the monster passed their cell and I heard horrible, almost inhuman screaming behind a thick wooden door.

"_That is a very special room,"_ the monster explained smiling. _"Believe me when I say, you do not want to end up there."_

I certainly believed him, but I tried my best for not to show my fear.

"Gareth!" he shouted.

It took a moment before the wooden door opened and a tall man with greasy black hair and a bloody shirt stepped outside and bowed.

"Master, he murmured.

"I want you to meet my new pet," the monster said and touched my head. I wanted to slap his hand, but I wasn't that stupid, I definitely didn't want to end up in that room. The tall man was looking at me callously with his dark brown eyes.

"She is a very special pet and I want everyone to know that if they even try to touch her, they will be your next…customers."

The tall man nodded.

"I will make sure that everyone knows that."

"Good. _Come on, little girl."_

For once I had no trouble following him; I wanted to get as far away from that place as possible. He showed me the library, saying that I was allowed to read what ever books I wanted.

"_I can not read,"_ I murmured.

He seemed surprised.

"_Hmm, perhaps I can fix that. And I want you to learn English."_

I definitely agreed; I wanted to understand what people around me were talking about. The rest of the tour included a dining room, a huge hall, a parlor and a garden. It was beautiful, I liked the colorful flowers.

"_Do you have any special skills?"_ the monster asked.

I stopped and turned to look at him.

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Do you play some instrument; are you talented with embroideries, making flower arrangements or something like that?"_

I was confused, why was he asking something like this?

"_No,"_ I murmured.

He sighed and for some very strange reason I felt a need to defend myself. Maybe I couldn't do those fancy things, but I wasn't useless.

"_I can cook and sew."_

He seemed amused.

"_How nice. It seems that I have a lot of training to do."_

I glared at him angrily. Training?

"_I am not a dog."_

"_You are what ever I want you to be,"_ he replied carelessly. _"Do not forget that."_

I barely managed to suppress my anger. Bastard. The flowers, I needed to concentrate on them.

"Nik!"

I turned immediately towards the woman's voice, she was approaching us quickly. She had a long blonde hair and she was wearing a pale green gown. She was beautiful, like a princess.

"Bekah," the monster said, smiling almost warmly, like he would care about this woman. She smiled too and kissed the monster's cheeks.

"I heard that you are back. Did you get your revenge?"

He shrugged.

"More or less. Has everything been in order here while I was gone?"

The woman nodded.

"Yes, nothing new here."

Her eyebrows furrowed when her green eyes turned to look at me.

"I heard about your little souvenir, but she seems quite young."

"She is not here to warm my bed," the monster replied dryly. "She has another purpose."

"Really? And what might that be?"

I looked at them both cautiously; the monster smiled and stroked my hair, like he would be petting a dog.

"She is my new pet; I have decided to train her myself."

The woman rolled her eyes.

"You have strange ways to amuse yourself, brother… Well, what is your pet's name?"

"Liliya. _Am I pronouncing that right, sweetheart?"_

He had never used my name before; it took a moment before I managed to nod.

"_This is my sister, Rebekah."_

His sister? Was she like him?

"She can not speak English?" Rebekah asked.

"Not yet, but she will learn. If I remember correctly your Bulgarian is not very good."

"No, it is not," she snorted. "But I know few words."

"Good, I was hoping that you would like to escort her to the tailor, he is expecting her and I have few things to take care of before the dinner."

"Why me?" she complained. "We have servants for that…"

"I would appreciate if you would do this for me. I believe that some female company would do her good."

"If you think that I am some kind of nursemaid…"

"No, I am merely asking you to escort the girl to the tailor. Leave her there; I will pick her up after I am finished."

"Fine," the woman snorted.

The monster turned to look at me.

"_Go with my sister, she will escort you to the tailor. Stay in his workroom until I come to pick you up."_

I nodded, what else I was supposed to do. The woman seemed irritated when she turned around and marched towards the castle. Silently I followed her; apparently the tailor's workroom was in the castle. I had trouble keeping up with her; finally she noticed that and slowed down a little.

"Nik and his toys…" she murmured and looked at me carelessly. _"You…how old?"_ she asked pronouncing each word carefully.

"_13,"_ I replied quietly.

Obviously she couldn't understand my answer; I raised one finger and then three.

Her eyes widened.

"13? Honestly? You are a child, as old as Hen…"

She bit her bottom lip, I couldn't understand her words, but she didn't seem pleased.

"I have to talk to Nik about this…"

We walked across few hallways before she opened the door to the tailor's workroom. He was a serious looking middle aged man who bowed respectfully when Rebekah entered the room.

"My lady."

She said something to him; he glanced at me and nodded before answering. They talked for a while and he showed her some fancy looking fabrics. The workroom was quite large; there were three long tables full of different kind of fabrics and threads. Finally I noticed a young man or more like a boy who was standing next to one of the tables, carefully cutting a fabric that looked like blue silk. He was probably the tailor's apprentice. Our eyes met for a brief moment and he smiled at me. For some reason the gesture almost made me to let out a sob, as pathetic as that was, but thankfully I managed to control myself.

"Liliya?"

I startled when I heard my name, Rebekah and the tailor were looking at me expectantly. I wasn't sure what they wanted me to do, I have never had tailor-made clothes; mother had always made all our clothes. The tailor had a long string; he motioned me to come closer. I hesitated; I wanted to know what he was going to do.

"_He will…"_ Rebekah started, but apparently her limited vocabulary didn't allow her to continue. She sighed and grabbed the string from the tailor.

"_Like this,"_ she said and wrapped the string around her waist and chest. Now I understood, I nodded and moved in front of the tailor. Rebekah took a step back and observed us when the tailor took my measurements. It didn't take long; obviously he was very good at his profession.

"_You like…color?"_ Rebekah asked. She probably meant what color did I like. I couldn't believe that she was actually asking my opinion. All the fabrics looked beautiful; I had never really paid much attention to my clothes, I was grateful that I had clothes in the first place.

"_Everything looks nice,"_ I said, hoping the she would understand. Apparently she did, she looked at me thoughtfully and said something to the tailor. He nodded approvingly and started to explain something to her. I waited until they reached some kind of conclusion; Rebekah motioned me to follow her. The monster had told me to wait for him here, but I figured that I could go with Rebekah; she was his sister after all. That was a strange thought; she didn't seem to be like him. Yet I was cautious, it would have been stupid not to be. When we reached the hallway I saw Elijah approaching us.

"_Hello,"_ he greeted me politely and turned to Rebekah. "Is she ready?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"Niklaus asked if I could teach her English, so I thought we could start right away."

Rebekah crossed her arms over her chest.

"Do you know what Nik is planning to do with her? I mean she is just a child."

"Yes, I know," Elijah replied tensely. _"Come with me, please."_

Quickly I glanced at Rebekah who rolled her eyes and marched to the opposite direction.

"_Everything is fine,"_ Elijah said reassuringly. _"I would like to teach you English if you allow me to."_

I looked at him cautiously and nodded.

"_Yes, please."_

He smiled, but there was something sad about that smile.

"_Alright, let's go to the library then and get started."_


	10. Paint it black

**Chapter 9**

**Paint it black**

2 weeks later

I yawned while sinking my quill into a bottle of ink, the paper in front of me was already full. Elijah was teaching me alphabets and I had learned few simple sentences in English, but I was frustrated, I was sure that he thought that I was stupid. I didn't like writing, it was too difficult. He was a great teacher and he had been very kind towards me, but I felt that I wasn't a good student.

I liked drawing more, back home I had used coal and whatever paper I had got my hands on. I gritted my teeth and forced myself to continue writing same letters over and over again; I didn't want Elijah to think that I was ungrateful. He had gone to take care of something and told me to keep practicing while he was gone.

I was sitting in the library by myself, biting the end of my quill and swinging my feet back and forth. I had trouble to concentrate, even after two weeks. Sitting at a table for hours every day wasn't something I had got used to and I didn't like it. I would have rather been outside, walking in the garden. After another yawn, I decided to take a little break, surely Elijah wouldn't mind.

Once again I wondered who he was and what he was doing here; he never spoke much about himself even though I had tried to ask him all kinds of questions. Somehow he always dodged them, but he was never rude. I had figured out that he was a nobleman; everyone addressed him as 'my lord' and obviously he was the monsters friend, every night he had dinner with me, the monster, his sister and some other people. I had also learned that the monster's name was Niklaus or Klaus as he liked to be called, not that I usually called him anything; I didn't speak to him unless I had to.

He demanded me to act like some mindless little sheep when I was with him and so far I had managed to do that, although I hated when he touched me like I would be his pet. According to him I was and unfortunately there wasn't much I could do about it, not if I didn't want him to hurt me. Sometimes I thought that I would deserve to be hurt, I was betraying my family every time when I accepted anything he gave to me, food, clothes, shelter.

Right now I wearing a new pale blue dress made especially for me, I had the fancy bedchamber and I had a good meal as often as I was hungry. All those things had given to me by the man or the demon who had murdered my family and I simply accepted everything like a good little pet. I was disgusted with myself; I grabbed the bottle of ink and threw it against the stone wall. It shattered in pieces; the ink was running down the wall, like thick black water. Maybe my soul looked like that…

I had no idea where that thought had come from, but in that moment I realized that I hadn't prayed after my family had died. I hadn't lighted a candle for them, praying God to look after them now. What was wrong with me, I knew that mother would be ashamed of me. She had prayed every day and she had wanted her children to follow her example. She had always believed that our Lord would hear every singly prayer and perhaps show mercy towards His children if they were worthy.

The thought filled me with bitterness, my mother had been a kind and loving woman, hadn't she been worthy of God's protection? She definitely hadn't deserved to die like that, neither had my father or my brother. I swallowed my tears, I could cry when I was alone in my bed, like I had done every night. I hated my weakness, but it was a little easier to cry in the dark and press my face against my pillow, letting it to smother my screams.

My hand was shaking a little when I picked up a new bottle of ink and a blank paper. I looked at it for a while but instead of writing another round of letters, I started to draw. I didn't really think about what I was doing, I simply let my hand to work. After a moment I found myself looking at very dark scenery, there was a dead tree and a gloomy, partly broken stone angel standing in the middle of cemetery.

Had I actually drawn this? I had used to draw pictures of my family, our home, the village, our cow or something like that. I stared at my drawing until someone entered the library. Klaus. I turned the paper around as quickly as I could.

"Well," he said while slowly approaching me. "I see my girl is working hard. Where is Elijah?"

He was using English, I couldn't understand everything he said, but I could guess that he was looking for Elijah.

"_He had something to take care of…"_ I started in Bulgarian.

"English," he demanded.

I pressed my lips together, I had no idea what to say, I only knew how to introduce myself, ask how the other person was and few other simple things.

"I…can…not," I murmured.

He rolled his eyes.

"_Fine, but I will not speak you Bulgarian for much longer, you must learn faster."_

I gritted my teeth; it was easy for him to say.

"_Let me see that,"_ he said looking at the paper in front of me.

I tensed; I couldn't let him see my drawing. Thankfully I had other papers, I handed him one of them. He picked it up and looked at my writing carelessly.

"_Good. Now that one."_

"_I have not written anything on it yet…"_ I murmured.

"_Give it to me,"_ he demanded firmly.

I didn't move; he frowned before yanking the paper from my hands. Slowly he turned it around and looked at it. His eyes narrowed and he was quiet for a while. I looked at the table, waiting for his reaction. Maybe he would be angry, maybe he would mock me, I really had no idea.

"_You drew this?"_ he finally asked.

I forced myself to look up.

"_Yes,"_ I replied defiantly.

To my surprise he actually smiled.

"_Well, it seems that you have some talent after all. This is very good."_

I was stunned; all I could do was staring at him.

"_Well done,"_ he said and touched my hair. _"Surely you do not mind me keeping this."_

Yes, I did mind, he was the last person who I wanted to give anything to, especially something so personal. That drawing was the reflection of my deepest feelings; I didn't want him to have it. Yet I said nothing, I simply allowed him to take it. Why didn't I fight, attack him and demand him to give it back? Why didn't I shout at him, say that I would rather burn it than give it to him? The answer was simple, I was a coward. I was afraid of those prison cells, the room and especially losing my memories. I was nothing but a despicable coward.

"_No."_

He looked surprised.

"_Pardon?"_

I looked at him keeping my face free from emotions.

"_I do not want you to take it, I want to burn it."_

He seemed amused.

"_That is not going to happen…"_

I was on my feet before he managed to finish his sentence, my chair sliding on the floor behind me.

"_Give it back!"_ I shouted and attacked him. All his amusement was definitely gone; he grabbed me and shoved me roughly against the wall.

"_I warned you not to cross me,"_ he growled, revealing his fangs. _"It seems that a tougher lesson is needed here."_


	11. In your debt

**Thank you so much for all your reviews, favs and alerts :)**

**Chapter 10**

**In your debt**

It only took a brief terrifying moment to realize how big mistake I had made, the dark anger in the monster's piercing blue eyes made my body to freeze.

"_I-I-I am sorry…"_ I started desperately, but it was too late, with an animalistic growl he grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder.

"_I believe it is time to introduce you my special room,"_ he snarled.

"_No!"_ I screamed. _"Please!"_

My fists were instinctively banging on his back and I tried to move my legs, but his bruising grip made me cry out in pain. Tears were coursing down my cheeks, I was too afraid to move again when he marched towards the door carrying me like a sack of potatoes. My terror was turning into panic, weak sobs escaped from my throat.

"_Ple-please…"_

I didn't care how pathetic that sounded like, I was willing to beg on my knees if I had to.

"_Please!"_

"Niklaus! What are you doing?"

For a moment I thought I had imagined someone saying those words, but the monster stopped before reaching the door.

"Out of my way, Elijah," he growled. "She needs to be taught a lesson, no one disobeys me."

"Calm down, she is just a child; surely she did not mean it…"

I was too scared to really hear what they were saying, not that I would have understood them anyway. The monster's hand was painfully squishing my thigh and I felt that I was going to throw up. My whole body was trembling and I was still sobbing. Weak, pathetic little girl… That was all I was. I hated myself, but mostly I was ashamed of my weakness, he had won before we had even left the room, I had let him won. A brave person would have stayed calm, let him do his worst without giving him this kind of satisfaction. Obviously I wasn't a brave person.

Suddenly I realized that it was very quiet, the only thing I heard was my own fast breathing. I felt the monster's body tensing before he placed me on the floor in front of him. He was looking at me callously, what was happening? I wasted no time trying to figure that out; I turned and ran towards Elijah who was standing in the doorway. Desperately I clung to him, burying my face in his chest.

"There, there," he murmured, wrapping his arms around me in a comforting gesture. Clearly he was uncomfortable, especially since I was still sobbing, no matter how hard I tried to stop.

"_Look at me, little girl,"_ the monster demanded.

I shook my head, clinging to Elijah even tighter. I didn't really expect him to protect me, but he felt like a safer option.

"_It's alright, little one,"_ he said stroking my hair calmingly.

"_No, please,"_ I pleaded when he tried to turn me around.

"_It's alright,"_ he repeated looking down at me before gently but firmly turning me to face the monster. He was standing right in front of me, his arms crossed over his chest.

"_Is there something you wish to say to me?"_ he asked coldly.

I swallowed; feeling Elijah's chest against my back somehow helped me to control myself.

"_I am sorry,"_ I murmured, trying to sound calm.

His face was completely blank, I had no idea what to expect.

"_That is not enough,"_ he stated.

I winced when he moved even closer, but I had no place to run.

"_However,"_ he continued. _"I might be willing to consider a different way for you to show me that you have learned your lesson."_

I looked at him cautiously.

"_What do you mean?"_

He smiled and lifted my drawing up.

"_You will paint me a real artwork. If I like it, everything will be forgiven. Is that clear?"_

I was stunned; he honestly wanted me to make him a painting? Why would he possibly want that? Apparently my hesitation irritated him, his eyebrows furrowed.

"_Is that clear?"_ he repeated coldly.

Somehow I managed to nod, it felt like a better option than being tortured or what ever he had planned to do.

"_Good. Everything that you need will be delivered to your bedchamber."_

He was about to pass me and Elijah on his way out when he suddenly stopped.

"_And to be clear, next time I will not be so merciful."_

After he was gone I closed my eyes and gave myself a moment to calm down.

"_Are you alright?"_ Elijah's calm voice asked.

I opened my eyes and turned to look at him.

"_Yes. Thank you."_

He sighed and placed his hand on my shoulder.

"_No need to thank me, but I must advice you to be more careful, my brother is not known for his forgiving nature…"_

"_What?"_ I interrupted him, although I knew how ill-mannered that was. _"Your brother?"_

He looked surprised.

"_Yes, Niklaus is my brother, surely you knew that…"_

Before I realized what I was doing, I was backing away. I was confused; I needed some time to process this new information.

"_You did not know that…"_ he murmured.

I shook my head, trying to gather my thoughts.

"_Are you like him?"_ I asked quietly.

He pressed his lips together.

"_That depends on what you mean exactly."_

"_Are you a demon?"_

His expression didn't change, if my question offended him, he didn't show it. I had wondered if the monster's sister was like him, but of course I hadn't asked the question out loud. Maybe I shouldn't have asked that now either, this man had been nothing but kind towards me.

"_Yes,"_ he replied tensely.

I shivered, I couldn't help it.

"_I have no intention to harm you,"_ he added.

I wanted to believe him, but I really wasn't sure. However that didn't change the fact that I owed him and that wasn't something I took lightly. Father had taught me that debts must always been paid, otherwise a person would bring shame to his or hers name.

"_I thank you for helping me today and taking the time to teach me,"_ I said trying to sound dignified. _"I am in your debt and I will repay you, you have my word."_

He looked stunned.

"_I do not expect that…"_

"_I do. I will not disgrace my family."_

He looked at me attentively; if I wasn't mistaken there was some curiosity in his eyes.

"_It is difficult to believe that you are so young… May I ask where your family is? In Bulgaria?"_

I flinched, but I managed to control myself quickly.

"_No, your brother killed them. Excuse me."_

I really didn't want to hear his reply; I turned around and marched out as quickly as I could. Thankfully he didn't try to stop me, I felt exhausted after everything that had happened. I wanted to get to my chamber and give myself some time to recover. Elijah had been right, I needed to be more careful and learn to control myself. I never wanted to draw anything ever again… Unfortunately I remembered the monster's order when I reached my chamber; there was an easel in the middle of the room. There wasn't a canvas or brushes yet, but that didn't matter, seeing the easel made me physically sick.

How was I supposed to do this, I had never painted and I certainly didn't want to paint anything for him. Slowly I approached the easel, glaring at it like it would be my enemy. I wanted to shatter it in pieces, but I wasn't that stupid, I might have as well marched straight to the dungeons. I hoped that no one would force me to eat anything today, I had no appetite. After staring at the easel for a while, I decided to forget it and lie down for a moment. It was an afternoon already; I had studied since the morning.

I barely managed to close my eyes when I was asleep. My dreams were strange, as they had been for a while, I couldn't understand or explain them. I didn't have nightmares about my family anymore, instead I saw flashes of people I had never met and places I had never been. Usually the dreams were violent, nightmares, but not always; this time the dream was quite calm.

There was a campfire next to a lake, people were singing and dancing. I was dancing with a beautiful young woman, she smiled at me. It wasn't only her beauty that interested me; it was the sweet nectar right beneath that soft, warm skin… I opened my eyes gasping for air. Stupid dreams. Maybe I was losing my mind… I turned on my side and startled when my hand hit something. It was almost dark already, but someone had lighted up few candles. How long had I slept?

Cautiously I picked up the object that had been placed on the bed next to me. My eyes widened when I saw what it was. A doll. What… It had dark curly hair and it was wearing a silky white dress. I have never had any kind of dolls, but father had whittled some wooden animals for me when I had been a child. I was a little confused, I was almost an adult, at least I thought so, but I had to admit that the doll was beautiful. I could name it Katerina… That was a stupid and childish thought, but why not, I would never tell anyone. But who had brought it here?


	12. Hunting demons

**Chapter 11**

**Hunting demons**

Kol looked at carelessly the night sky over Lake Balaton. His evening hadn't been too bad, he had ran into some vagabonds and been invited to their celebration.

"Cecilia!"

He rolled his eyes; apparently they were still looking for his dinner. A pretty little thing and she had tasted amazing. Everything was great, except the little echo he had felt tonight. Nik's blood pet had been afraid, no surprise there. He was actually surprised that the girl was still alive; he didn't think that her blood had been _that_ special. Well, obviously Nik thought that it was, why else would she still be breathing.

Not that it mattered, her feelings weren't so strong anymore, he was aware of them, but they didn't really bother him. In fact the experience was kind of interesting, it was definitely something new. He would have never intentionally created a blood bond with a human, but he had sometimes wondered why some vampires found it so special. But of course those vampires had some kind of emotional bond with their humans. Pathetic…

Well, his human seemed to be fine now… Wait, what? She wasn't his human, she was Nik's human and he didn't want her to be his. What would he do with a human child; she couldn't even offer him a sexual pleasure. _If_ he would want to keep some human around for a little longer, that human certainly wouldn't be as young as this one. On the other hand, he had never kept a human as a pet; he had no idea why some vampires did that. Perhaps he was a little curious.

He smiled, the little human was very calm now, she was probably asleep. Funny, he didn't even know her name. Not that it mattered, why would he care about that. Yet he found himself toying with the idea of buying her from Nik or maybe his brother would even give her to him as a birthday gift or something? Personally Kol couldn't have cared less about birthdays, but for some reason Nik did. Maybe the girl was a child now, but she wouldn't remain so forever… This was ridiculous, why was he even thinking about her? She was just a one human, nothing more. The world was full of humans; all he had to do was take his pick.

* * *

Katerina's fingers were gently touching a piece of paper. Carefully she moved it a little in order to prevent her tears to ruin it. The faces of her family were silently looking at her; this paper was all she had left of them. Liliya had done a beautiful work, they all looked so perfect. Father looked serious, as he had usually been. He had been a strict man, but she had loved him and she knew that he had loved her. If she would have made her mistake with anyone except Emil, the son of the most powerful man in the village, her father wouldn't have been forced to send her away.

Maybe her father wouldn't have been able to forgive her the humiliation she had caused, but at least she could have stayed home. Emil's father had arranged everything; he had wanted to get rid of her and her child before his son would start a real family. Katerina couldn't even think about her child, she only prayed that she was somewhere safe. She would never know for sure, not now when her father was dead.

Her mother smiled at her, she had been the kindest woman Katerina had ever met. Grigor looked as serious as father, he had never smiled much, but he had been reliable and loyal, even though he hadn't accepted his sister's choices. He had even offered to challenge Emil for a duel in order to defend his sister's honor, but that would have never happened, Katerina didn't have any honor to defend. She had been foolish enough to believe all Emil's sweet lies and promises, she had willingly gave him her innocence.

Tears formed her eyes again when she looked at the face of her baby sister. Sweet little Liliya, she had looked as delicate as her name but she had been so stubborn and full of spirit. Katerina had always loved that about her, even though Liliya's impulsiveness had often caused her problems. Her poor sister, there were so many things she had never experienced, she had never been kissed or… Suddenly a terror filled her, had Klaus… No, Liliya had been a child, surely he wouldn't have…

But the truth was that she couldn't really be sure, she didn't know what kind of terror her family had experienced during their last moments in this world. All because of her… She lowered her head and cried even harder. The tombstone in front of her was very plain and modest, there was nothing written on it except her family name. Her home had been empty; everything even slightly valuable had been stolen. The bloodstains had still been there, no one had bothered to clean them up. She had lost everything, there was nothing left…

"Katerina?"

Her senses sharpened immediately, she turned around and saw Emil and few other young men from the village. What were they doing in the cemetery in the middle of the night?

"What are you doing here?" Emil asked quite rudely.

Katerina's eyes narrowed.

"My family is buried here."

"You were forbidden to ever return," Emil continue, ignoring her words. "We do not want harlots like you here, go back to England."

"Harlots?" Katerina repeated icily. "You said that you love me and you proposed to me…"

Emil laughed mockingly.

"I never said such things, you begged me to take you like a worthless whore you are, surely I was not your first or certainly not your last."

All the other men were laughing. Katerina's anger was rising; soon he would regret every word. But first she needed some information.

"Who found my family?" she asked calmly.

Emil looked surprised.

"My father. He only went there because your insane sister dared to attack Mascha, my father would have certainly had her flogged for that."

Katerina almost smiled, Mascha was an arrogant and spoiled brat who certainly deserved a good beating. Hopefully Liliya had given her that.

"How had they died?" Katerina forced herself to ask.

Emil grinned.

"That is an interesting question. Most people in the village think that your crazy sister killed them."

Katerina's eyes widened.

"What?" she asked disbelievingly.

"Yes, they all had wounds on their neck, but there was not as much blood as there should have been. Father Damyan examined the bodies and he said that it had been a work of a demon or a witch, we burned the bodies before burying them."

Katerina tried to understand what he was saying.

"Liliya's body was not there?"

"No, she is the demon, we have been hunting her ever since. According to father Damyan, demons like cemeteries, they violate dead bodies."

Katerina looked at the men more carefully and noticed that they all were armed. They were here to hunt her sister… Her lips curved into a smile.

"Have you killed many demons?" she asked.

"Not yet," Emil replied arrogantly. "But soon we will."

"Really? And what would you do if you would face a demon?"

"Oh, we are ready…"

Katerina moved behind them before Emil managed to finish his sentence and effortlessly broke two necks. Rest of the men didn't have time to even realize what was happening when she had killed them all, except Emil. His mouth floundered open and closed when his mind was desperately trying to understand what was happening. Finally he tried to raise his sword but Katerina took it from him easily and threw it on the ground. She smiled at him, letting him to see her fangs.

"You wanted a demon?" she purred. "Here I am."

Emil looked shocked, a weak whimper escaped from his throat. Katerina raised an eyebrow.

"What, nothing to say? Oh come on, surely you want to kill the evil demon harlot. Go ahead, do it!"

He turned around and ran as fast as he could. Katerina sighed before catching him and grabbing his neck.

"No, please," he whimpered.

"Bye, bye, my love," she said and leaned towards him. "Oh and by the way," she added before sinking her fangs into his neck. "You were a terrible lover."

He tried to struggle but that didn't last for long, she enjoyed sucking every last drop of his blood before dropping his lifeless body on the ground. For a moment she allowed herself to enjoy this perfect feeling, but she had more important things on her mind. What had happened to Liliya? The fact that her body hadn't been found didn't mean that she would still be alive, but for the first time in a long time Katerina felt a glimpse of hope. Maybe she had managed to escape or maybe Klaus had even let her live… That didn't sound very likely, but either way she would find her.

"Hold on, little sister," she murmured. "I am coming."


	13. The sins of others

**Chapter 12**

**The sins of others**

Elijah stayed at the library for a while after Liliya had left, trying to decide of what to make of her. She was very young, even for a human and as far as Elijah could tell there wasn't anything peculiar about her, she was simply a human child. Yet Niklaus must have had some reason to bring her here after killing her family. Elijah didn't buy the whole pet thing, Niklaus had never been that interested in humans, especially children. His brother must have a reason to keep the girl here, not to mention wanting to educate her. Not personally of course, but Elijah didn't really mind teaching her, she was quite a pleasant little human. He had time and obviously she was trying very hard to learn. Poor thing, he felt sympathy towards her. But right now he should have a word with his brother. Niklaus was at the dining room talking with Joanne, his favorite witch.

"Master Elijah," the witch greeted him calmly when he entered the room. Niklaus' back was turned and he didn't bother to turn to face his brother.

"Well, I see you survived from the waterworks," he stated humorlessly.

"May I have a word with you," Elijah replied coolly, ignoring his comment.

Niklaus sighed, already bored; he could probably guess what Elijah was planning to say.

"Fine. Excuse us, will you Joanne?"

"Of course," the witch replied and stood up.

"Do not start," Niklaus warned as soon as Joanne had left. "I was more than merciful with the girl, this one time."

Elijah moved next to the table and sat down opposite his brother who was enjoying his wine.

"Why is this girl here?" he asked.

Niklaus was quiet for a while, carelessly looking at his wine goblet.

"Alright, perhaps I can tell you," he finally said and looked up. "She is here because of her blood."

Elijah frowned, he was almost sure that Niklaus hadn't fed on her, at least not when she had been here.

"Her bloodline to be exact," Niklaus added.

Elijah was confused.

"What?"

"Her family name is Petrova; she is our dear Katerina's sister."

Elijah gasped; he knew there had been something slightly familiar about the girl. Katerina's sister…

"Alright… And why is she here?"

"Like I said, because of her bloodline," Niklaus snorted. "She will give birth to the next Petrova, who will give birth to the next and so on until the new doppelganger is born. Simple, is it not?"

"She can not give birth, she is a child…" Elijah started.

"Yes, I know, I am not completely heartless. I will wait until her body is ready, then I will choose her some nice human man to complete the task."

Elijah was too stunned to speak; his brother's tone was very careless, like he would have been talking about the weather.

"Complete the task?"

Niklaus rolled his eyes.

"Oh come on, surely you know how humans reproduce? It will be perfectly natural; I might even allow her to raise her child, assuming she earns that privilege."

Elijah had no idea what to say, he had trouble to digest his brother's words. Niklaus' eyebrows furrowed.

"Do not give me that judgmental look," he snorted. "The girl will be taken care of; she will have everything what she needs. Besides, do I have to remind you how her sister used you?"

Elijah gritted his teeth, but he kept his face free from emotions, he certainly didn't need to be reminded of that.

"Treacherousness is in their blood," Niklaus continued. "Starting with Tatia. You and I should know that better than anyone."

That was something Elijah couldn't deny, he was still angry at himself, falling for Katerina had been a huge mistake, he should have known better. Niklaus smiled.

"Yes, she might look all frail and innocent, but do not forget who she is. I believe it was our mother who said once that the whole Petrova bloodline is rotten, that was the reason why she used Tatia's blood in the first place."

Elijah pressed his lips together.

"Are you planning to use her as some kind of scapegoat then?"

"Why would I do that?" Niklaus huffed. "I already took my revenge as far as Katerina's family is concerned, naturally she herself will still pay as soon as I will get my hands on her. But this little Petrova, she is quite an interesting creature and I believe she will offer me plenty of amusement before she is old enough to get pregnant."

Elijah didn't say anything; he didn't have much to add to that. Niklaus snorted and emptied his goblet.

"I am heading to the village for a little snack; I assume you are not interested in joining me?"

Elijah shook his head.

"No, I do not think so."

Niklaus shrugged.

"Well, that is your lost, brother. I will see you later."

Elijah picked up a goblet and poured himself some wine after his brother had walked out; he needed to gather his thoughts. To be honest he wasn't sure what to think. This girl… He was still mad at her sister and as much as he considered himself to be a gentleman, he would have probably really hurt Katerina if she would have been here at the moment. He had been willing to risk everything in order to save her life and how had she thanked him? Elijah squished his wine goblet, he couldn't even think about her without getting angry. He had let his guard down and allowed himself to care… That had been beyond foolish. Slowly he got up and headed towards Liliya's bedchamber. He had no idea what he was doing, for some reason he needed to see the girl. When he reached the door to her chamber, it opened silently and Rebekah stepped out. Her eyes widened when she noticed her brother, there was a guilty look on her face.

"Rebekah? What…"

"I did not do anything," she murmured tensely. "She is sleeping."

Rebekah marched away before Elijah managed to say anything else. After a brief hesitation he pushed the door open and entered Liliya's chamber. She was sleeping, just like Rebekah had said and there was an easel in the middle of the room. Art had always been Niklaus' passion, obviously he had seen that the girl had talent and he wanted to explore that. Elijah moved slowly next to her bed and looked at her. She was still a human child, that hadn't changed even if her name was Petrova. What kind of person would hold her responsible for other people's sins?

She sighed in her sleep and moved a little. Then Elijah noticed the doll next to her. He was stunned; Niklaus had given her a doll? That didn't make any sense… Niklaus hadn't given it, Rebekah had. As strange as the whole thought was Elijah couldn't help but smile. Of course he knew that his sister had a softer side, but this time she had managed to surprise him completely. Obviously Rebekah felt sympathy towards the girl and in her own little way she had tried to do something nice for her. She would never admit it of course and Elijah wasn't going to mention the whole matter to anyone. He crossed his arms over his chest and gazed at the sleeping girl. He really didn't know what to think.

* * *

"So, a little bird told me that a certain handsome soldier had shown interest towards a certain friend of mine," one of my maids said. If I wasn't mistaken her name was Margaret.

"Perhaps," the other one replied smiling. "I am not sure how to reply yet…"

They always chatted while helping me taking a bath or get dressed or something, although I really didn't need anyone's help. Besides they were rough when they brushed my hair and obviously they were repulsed by me, I didn't need to understand their words in order to figure that out. Margaret was helping me getting dressed and the other one, Helen or something like that, was making my bed.

"Hey, look at this," she said.

I turned to look at her, following Margaret's example. Helen was holding my doll, she looked repulsed.

"What kind of kinky things is the lord doing with her?" she murmured.

Margaret shook her head.

"Disgusting… But at least he has decency to use the little savage, not normal English girls."

I walked to Helen and yanked my doll from her hand.

"Little harlot…" she murmured.

I placed the doll on the table and looked at the maids.

"Do…not…touch," I said firmly.

"What ever you say 'my lady'" Helen replied mockingly.

I couldn't have cared less what they thought of me, but I was going to make sure that they would leave Katerina alone. Wait, was I actually defending my doll? Well that was just sad. I wasn't sure what I should do now. The maids had brought me breakfast here, as usual and I had just ate, so should I go to the library or start making the painting? I looked at the easel, the canvas was in place now and everything was ready. No, I definitely couldn't paint now so I headed towards the library. There was no one there, but my papers, the quill and the bottle of ink were still on the table, so I continued writing the letters. I looked up when I heard footsteps; Elijah walked in and stopped when he saw me.

"Good morning," he said in English. He seemed a little tense.

"Good morning," I replied. "How…are…you?"

"I am fine, thank you for asking. How are you?"

"Fine. The…sun…is…boiling."

He looked at me for a moment and smiled, his tension seemed to be gone.

"Shining. The sun is shining."

"Oh… The…sun…is…shining."

I repeated the sentence few times in order to remember it correctly for now on. Elijah seemed like his normal self again when he sat down next to me and started to teach me new letters. I hadn't been sure how I could handle the fact that he was Klaus' brother, but I didn't find his presence uncomfortable. I wasn't going to talk to him about my family and he didn't bring the matter up either. He hadn't killed them, it wouldn't be right to hate him because of the things his brother had done. We were all responsible of our own actions; that was more than enough.


	14. Something poetic

**Chapter 13**

**Something poetic**

1 week later

I took a step back and looked at my work. My eyebrows furrowed, I wasn't sure what to think about it. After countless rejected ideas, I had painted the beautiful dark-haired woman from my dream. She was smiling, like a person who didn't have a care in the world. The flames and the lake were on the background, I wasn't completely happy about the way they had turned out. Well, this was the first time I had painted anything so maybe the monster didn't expect it to be perfect.

I hadn't been able to concentrate in my chamber so I had brought the easel in the garden; the fresh air had helped a lot. It was a beautiful day; I was really enjoying the sunlight after spending so much time indoors. Surprisingly I had also enjoyed painting, even though I had been forced to do it. The girl on the canvas was looking straight at me. The thought that I had created her, brought her from my dream to the canvas felt unreal. I wasn't really sure why I had chosen to paint her, I could have painted anything.

At least I was finished now and hopefully the lord high and mighty would be satisfied with the outcome. He didn't want me to only learn English anymore, he had also said that I would learn to dance, make embroideries and play violin. Those were the skills of a noblewoman; I had no idea why he wanted _me_ to learn them. But then again, why he wanted me to do anything, I couldn't understand his goal, if he had any.

I sighed and was about to pick up the easel when the sudden sound of barking made me stop and look up. I saw a large dark brown dog running towards me; it was one of those hunting dogs I had seen near the stables. It looked angry, but I didn't have time to make a sound when it jumped against me, making me to fall on my back. By some miracle I managed to stay calm when the dog stepped on my chest and brought its nose next to my face. We looked at each other for a while, then it licked my cheek. I was so relieved that I laughed.

"_You are not an angry dog, are you?"_ I said in Bulgarian. Judging by the animal's wagging tail, it wasn't.

"Kingston!" a man's voice shouted, he was running towards me and the dog. "Here, right now! Bad dog!"

The dog got off me before the man reached us; its tail was between its legs.

"Dear Lord… Are you injured, my lady?"

I blinked when the face of a young man was suddenly hovering over me; there was a worried look in his brown eyes. His short hair was also brown and judging by his clothes he was a servant.

"I…am…fine," I said as clearly as I could.

He was definitely relieved.

"May I have your permission to help you up?" he asked.

I couldn't understand his question; my English wasn't nearly that good yet.

"Forgive me…I can…not…understand."

His eyes widened.

"Oh…"

He hesitated before holding out his hand. I smiled and gladly accepted it; he helped me effortlessly to my feet.

"Are you sure that you are alright? Kingston means no harm, he is still young and too eager, I…"

"I…am…fine," I repeated and looked at the dog who was sitting on the ground. "Kingston?"

The man nodded.

"Yes, my lady."

I frowned, why was he calling me that?

"Liliya," I said pointing at myself.

The man seemed confused, he bowed respectfully.

"It is an honor to make your acquaintance, my lady."

"Your…name?"

"Daniel," he said and bowed again. "I work at the stables."

Stables, that word I did understand. He looked up and I smiled at him.

"I am…happy to…breed you."

He looked stunned, his mouth floundered open and closed. I was confused, had I said something wrong?

"My, my," Klaus' voice suddenly said. "Someone is a naughty girl."

Daniel tensed and bowed immediately.

"My lord."

I turned to look at Klaus, he was grinning.

"_What?"_ I asked in Bulgarian.

His grin grew even wider when he explained what I had just said to Daniel. I blushed, that was certainly embarrassing.

"_Could you please explain to him…"_ I started, but he simply waved his hand.

"What are you doing here?" he asked coldly, looking at Daniel.

"Forgive me, my lord, the dog…"

"Leave us."

"My lord…"

He glanced at me before leaving with Kingston who didn't seem to like Klaus very much. That wasn't a surprise, according to my experience dogs were smart animals. I looked at Klaus cautiously, excepting him to tell me what he wanted. He didn't say anything; instead he turned his gaze towards the easel. Slowly he approached it, biting his lower lip.

"_This is finished?"_ he asked.

"_Yes."_

He was quiet for a long while, looking at my painting. I didn't see his face so I had no idea what he was thinking. I heard Kingston barking and for some reason that made me smile. I wondered how old Daniel was, probably not much older than me, but judging by his muscular arms he had got used to physical labor.

"_This is good,"_ Klaus said, cutting off my thoughts. _"I am pleased with you, sweetheart."_

Hooray, that was all I had ever wanted.

"Thank you," I murmured in English.

He smiled and motioned me to come closer. Oh great, he wanted to pet me. I gritted my teeth, but I took a step towards him. Obviously he was in a good mood and that certainly wasn't the case very often, there was no point getting him angry now. I startled when instead of petting me he leaned towards me and kissed my forehead.

"_Good girl. Is this woman someone who you know?"_

I shook my head.

"_No, I have never met her."_

"_Well, good work either way. I believe I wish to reward your efforts, what would you like?"_

I stared at him with my mouth open, was he serious? Maybe he was a monster or a demon or what ever, but it seemed that in a way he was like a spoiled child, acting out when things didn't go his way and all kind and charming after getting what he wanted.

"_Anything?"_ I managed to ask.

He frowned.

"_Within reason."_

"_Horses,"_ I blurted out before I could even think about it. _"I…would like to spend time with…horses."_

He seemed surprised and amused at the same time.

"_Is that so? Well, I believe that can be arranged."_

What was I doing? I honestly had no idea.

* * *

Poland, 3 months later

Kol licked his lips and sighed in content while dropping the body of a young woman on the floor. She had tasted delicious.

"Very nice," he said, leaning back on a very stylish sofa.

"Only the best for you, _ojciec_," his host replied politely.

Kol frowned, he didn't particularly like being called that, it was way too…friendly. He certainly wasn't anyone's father, even if he was this young lord's maker. The reason why Kol had turned him few decades ago was that he was useful. Marcin was the son of one of the most powerful men in Poland and now when his father was dead, he had inherited all his wealth, including a private army. Even though Kol was known for his short temper and impulsiveness, he was capable of strategic thinking for every now and then.

But to be fair, his most important reason to turn this particular human had been much simpler; Marcin's father had dared to insult him at some celebration. Instead of killing the arrogant human himself, he had made the man's son to do it. There had been something almost poetic about that, not to mention young Marcin had proved to be a natural when it came to killing. A very promising young vampire, cruel and ruthless.

"May I offer you another one?" Marcin asked. His English was almost perfect, although he had a strong accent. He had been 17 when he had become a vampire; he was a short and skinny boy who hadn't scared anyone few decades ago. He was certainly scaring people now.

"No, thank you. You seem to be doing fine."

He nodded.

"Yes, I can not complain. I am honored and pleased by your visit, _ojciec_."

"Hmm, I have business here."

What Kol meant was that he hadn't come to Poland just to see his progeny, but of course Marcin couldn't read between the lines, he was as anxious as ever to please his maker.

"Anything I can help you with?"

"Perhaps, we can talk about that later."

"Yes, of course. Your chamber is ready if you wish to bathe or get changed; I am sure after your long journey…"

"Yes, yes, thank you," Kol huffed. He was in a bad mood; he had been for a while. The strange part was that he couldn't really explain why. Nik's blood pet had been happy lately. Too happy, the feelings he picked up were way too…warm. Who had caused such feelings? And why the hell did he care? This was just irritating.

"Marcin?" a woman's voice said from the door. She stopped when she saw Kol and lowered her head.

"_Forgive me, I did not know you have company,"_ she said in Polish. She was a graceful little creature with sandy blonde hair and pale green eyes. A human.

"_That is alright, Sabina,"_ Marcin said smiling warmly. _"Come, I want you to meet my father."_

Kol was about to say that he wasn't anyone's father, but he decided to let it go for now. The woman approached them cautiously; Marcin pulled her on his lap and kissed her cheek. She didn't seem to care about the body on the floor, she just leaned her head on Marcin's shoulder. The whole thing seemed strange, Kol had never seen Marcin shown affection towards anyone after he had become a vampire.

"I am honored to meet you, my lord," the woman said in English.

Kol had no idea what to say, he tried to understand what was going on. The bite marks on her neck… Was it possible?

"You have shared blood with her," he stated.

Marcin nodded.

"Yes. _Please excuse us, my love."_

"Of course."

The woman stood up and walked out after smiling at Marcin.

"You can not be serious," Kol snorted. "She is a human."

"Yes, I know," Marcin replied. "Of course I will eventually turn her."

"You have created a blood bond with a human, only a fool would do that."

Marcin smiled.

"With all due respect, _ojciec,_ I must disagree. She is the one for me; I knew it when I first laid my eyes on her."

Kol rolled his eyes, and to think he had actually considered Marcin as a promising young vampire. What a disappointment…

"How sweet," he snorted. How pathetic. At least he had created his blood bond accidently.

"I take it you have never been in love?" Marcin stated.

"No, that is a _human_ feeling," Kol replied loathingly.

Marcin didn't seem offended, he smiled.

"Alright, fair enough. But allow me to let you in on a little secret, the blood bond sex is amazing, nothing you have ever experienced before."

Kol raised an eyebrow.

"I doubt that."

Marcin shrugged.

"You should definitely try it, _ojciec._"

Kol huffed; he certainly wasn't pleased with his progeny. Maybe he could have tried the sex, but his human was too young. For now… And he seemed to have a competitor. That wasn't acceptable. Perhaps he should pay his siblings a little visit.


	15. Who I am

**Thank you for your reviews, favs and alerts, you're my inspiration :) There will be more Kol in the next chapter, please let me know if you have any requests, suggestions, etc.**

**Chapter 14**

**Who I am**

I looked at the pair of blue eyes on the canvas and bit my lip. She didn't look right, more terror. In my dream she had been so scared. Her fear had pleased me; it had made her blood taste sweeter. What kind of person had that kind of dreams? Yet I couldn't stop painting the faces I saw. Some of them were scared, others sad and then there were those who were… what, happy? Their eyes were closed and there was a blissful look on their face. In my dreams they were moaning, at first I had thought that they had been in pain, but obviously they weren't. Those dreams were the most confusing ones; I couldn't understand what I was feeling. It was a mixture of some kind of dark triumph, which was getting stronger with their every moan, and loathing. They were so weak, mine to use how ever I wanted and they loved every second of it… I tried to erase those thoughts and concentrated on my current painting. Almost finished, but the eyes still weren't right.

"Good afternoon, my lady," a voice suddenly said from behind me, making me almost to jump.

I had been alone in the garden for a while and I had got used to the silence. Obviously Daniel noticed that he had startled me.

"Forgive me, I did not mean…"

"That is alright," I assured turning to face him. He looked as sweet as ever, seeing he made me smile.

"You forgot this at the stables," he said holding my creamy silk scarf.

I had spent a lot of time at the stables lately and it wasn't simply because I liked horses, it was because of him. Daniel was always so kind; he made me smile, listened to what I had to say, even though my English was still far from perfect and he never mocked me. He had simply brought the joy back into my life when I had thought that I could never be happy again. I had been here for over 3 months, I was still a prisoner and I was forced to spent time with the person who had took everything from me, but being with Daniel helped me to deal with that. Of course I remembered the warnings of mother and Katerina, but I couldn't believe that Daniel was like that, he wouldn't hurt me. Maybe this was love, I really didn't know.

"Thank you," I said smiling, trying to take the scarf but a sudden gust of wind caught it first, flying it across the garden.

"I will get it for you," Daniel said and ran after it. I giggled and followed him, we both tried to catch the scarf until Daniel finally succeeded.

"My lady," he said smiling and bowed when he handed me the scarf.

"Thank you kind sir," I replied and curtsied, just like my etiquette teacher had taught me to do. I really hated those lessons, almost as much as I hated my violin lessons. The worst part was that Klaus wanted me to play for him and his guest at his celebration tomorrow night. It would be the first time when I would take part in any official social occasion; he thought that I was finally starting to be presentable. The whole thought made me furious, he wanted to show me off like some trained lapdog. All kind of nasty thoughts had crossed my mind, but he had made very clear what would happen if I would even think about misbehaving.

I would lose all the privileges I had managed to "earn" by being a good little pet, including my walks in the garden and the time I was allowed to spend at the stables. I couldn't let that to happen, even if I would have to entertain Klaus and his friends, who ever they were. Maybe they were demons like him, I had no idea. But now when Daniel looked into my eyes and smiled I really didn't care. Gently his fingers touched my cheek before he leaned closer and kissed me like so many times before. His kisses were always soft and tender; he treated me like I would have really been a lady. My eyes were closed and I was smiling when he pulled away.

"I love you, my lady," he whispered.

"Liliya," I corrected and pulled him close, I wanted to kiss him again. This didn't feel wrong, it felt pure and innocent, just like I had imagined love to be like. He was amazing and when I was with him, I was happy.

* * *

Klaus stayed out of sight as he watched the little Petrova kissing the stable boy. He smiled; what a cute scene, it just warmed his heart. She was so young and naïve, thinking that he didn't know what she was really doing at the stables. He knew everything what his little sparrow did, she couldn't have kept any secrets from him.

"What is so interesting?" Elijah asked, he had just appeared next to Klaus.

"Young love," Klaus replied without turning his gaze from the couple. "Adorable are they not?"

Elijah turned to see what he was talking about and frowned.

"I see. And you have no problem with this?"

"Well, I would have preferred her reproducing with someone less…common, but there is no need to make things more complicated than they have to be. Besides, this will speed things up and her affection towards the boy will work for my advantage."

Elijah crossed his arms over his chest and sighed.

"I have noticed her being happier lately, but I still think it is not wise to allow the boy to be with her unguarded, he might cross the line…"

"No need to worry about that, she is perfectly safe; I can assure you that he will not cross any lines."

Elijah turned to look at his brother.

"What did you do?"

Klaus smiled; did Elijah honestly think that he wasn't controlling everything what was happening to his little pet?

"You compelled the boy…" Elijah muttered.

"Of course I did," Klaus snorted. "Joanne made sure that he is healthy and capable of getting her pregnant, as soon as her body is ready."

"And his feelings towards her?"

Klaus rolled his eyes.

"What difference does that make? I made him to worship the ground she stands on, that is what every woman wants, is it not? He will be what ever she wants him to be."

Elijah pressed his lips together, he certainly didn't look pleased.

"What?" Klaus snorted. "You think it would have been better to choose some stranger when she is old enough and order her to mate with him?"

"No, of course not, but…"

"I showed her kindness, I thought that you of all people would appreciate that."

Elijah was quiet for a while.

"Out of curiosity, why did you decide to show her…kindness?"

Judging by Elijah's tone, kindness wasn't the word he would have used, but to Klaus this was more than kind.

"Like I said, there is no need to make things unnecessarily complicated. She likes him, maybe even loves him and when I think that the time is right, he will get her pregnant. And since the boy does what ever I want, he will not do anything to hurt my little sparrow. Everybody wins."

"That is an interesting nickname," Elijah stated calmly. "One might even think that she means something to you."

"Don't be ridiculous, brother," Klaus huffed. "She is a human, a pet. I do enjoy her paintings, she is very talented and I believe she can be even more so with right kind of guidance. Overall she is an interesting project and tomorrow night it is time to see how much potential she truly has."

"Yes, the celebration… I am sure that she will try her best, but I hope you won't be too hard on her."

Klaus didn't bother to reply, this was one of those times when Elijah's patronizing tone really irritated him. What he did with his property was none of Elijah's business.

* * *

"Good night, my lady," Margaret murmured tensely before she and Helen left. They had become more careful around me lately, probably because I could understand English much better now and because I was still here, they must have thought that Klaus would have been bored with me by now. Clearly they thought that I was his mistress or something like that. Fortunately that wasn't the case; I was "just" his pet. I was grateful that he hadn't touched me like that, but I was a little worried. My 14th birthday was approaching, would that change things?

I turned on my back and stared at the ceiling. There were few candles burning and the maids had lit up a fire in the fireplace, I had asked them not to close the bed curtains. The Katerina doll was on the small table next to my bed, I liked to keep her near. I wished that Daniel would be here as well… The celebration would be tomorrow and I was nervous, Daniel's presence surely would have calmed me.

After tossing and turning in my bed for a long while, I had to accept that I simply couldn't sleep. Maybe that was for the best, one of those weird dreams was the last thing I needed right now. After a moment of hesitation, I decided to practice with my violin, perhaps then I would be able to sleep. I got up and looked around, but my violin wasn't here, I must have left it at the library earlier today. I was only wearing a long nightgown, but the library wasn't far, I didn't think that I needed to get dressed. I picked up a candle and headed towards the door.

The hallway was dark and quiet, I couldn't hear a sound. A little spooky, but my pride didn't allow me to turn around, I wasn't a coward. Right, sure… I pressed my lips together and walked across the hallway, I was barefoot so I didn't make much sound. Finally I reached the library and saw the pale candlelight coming from behind the door. It was slightly open; I wondered who was still in there. Carefully I peeked inside and almost sighed in relief when I recognized Elijah, he was sitting on the couch. I was about to say something when I noticed that he wasn't alone, there was a young woman sitting next to him. His fingers were caressing her neck, she smiled at him.

"Everything is alright," he said calmingly.

The woman repeated his words before he leaned towards her. I thought that he was going to kiss her, but then I saw his canine teeth. The woman's body twitched when he bit her, stroking her hair at the same time. I gasped in shock, I couldn't help it. Knowing that he was Klaus' brother and seeing it with my own eyes were two very different things. This woman was someone's daughter, maybe even someone's mother…

"Stop!" I shouted before I knew what I was doing. My body moved automatically, I pushed the door open and marched inside.

He raised his head, looking almost as shocked as I was.

"Liliya…"

I clenched my fists, my whole body was shaking. He turned quickly to the woman and said something to her, but I couldn't hear him, I couldn't even move. The woman stood up and left without saying a word, Elijah took a handkerchief and wiped the blood from his face. We were quiet for a long while, I didn't look at him.

"_I am sorry that you had to see that,"_ he finally murmured in Bulgarian.

"_Would you have killed that woman?"_ I asked.

"_Not intentionally, no,"_ he replied tensely. _"I try…not to do that."_

I was so confused; I looked up and met his gaze.

"_I do not understand… You…you seem different…"_

He sighed and turned to look at the fireplace.

"_It is not that simple, I must…feed."_

Slowly I started to understand. Blood… How could I have not seen that before? The demons didn't simply enjoy drinking blood, it was their nourishment.

"_The blood is your food,"_ I murmured.

"_Yes, I need it."_

I wasn't sure what to say, I needed a moment to digest this information.

"_Have you killed people?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Many people?"_

"_Yes."_

At least he was honest, but that didn't make me feel any better. He turned slowly to look at me, he seemed tired.

"_You asked me once am I a demon, and as I told you then yes I am. I do not kill for fun and I like to think that I have at least some kind of moral, but that does not change the fact that I am not a human."_

I looked at him closely, thinking about his words. I had seen humans who were worse than him, I believed him when he said that he didn't kill for fun. Yet I was unsure of what to think.


	16. Celebrate

**First of all, I'm so sorry, I know that I promised more Kol in this chapter, but the first part turned out longer than I thought so I decided to put the second part in the next chapter. If you want to see what Liliya's dress looks like, there's a link on my profile page. Also, I've forgot to mention that the song that inspired this story is She Is My Sin by Nightwish, listen to it if you want :)**

**Chapter 15**

**Celebrate**

"Here we are," Margaret said keeping the awful looking fake smile on her face. "You look lovely, my lady, surely the lord will be pleased with you."

"Thank you," I murmured. I couldn't have cared less what Klaus thought about my appearance, but I had to admit that my dark blue gown was beautiful. Helen and Margaret had helped me to get dressed and made me a nice plait coiffure.

"Will you spend the night here, my lady?" Helen asked, trying her best to sound polite. "Or in the lord's chamber perhaps?"

"Here," I replied immediately.

Helen and Margaret exchanged a quick look.

"Alright, we shall prepare everything for you."

"Thank you."

I was very nervous, the sun was just setting and the celebration was about to start. Why did it start so late? Not that it mattered; I was hoping that I wouldn't have to stay there for long. Maybe Klaus only expected me to play and I could leave after that. The sudden knock from the door startled me; a servant entered the room and bowed.

"Good evening, my lady. The lord is expecting you."

I swallowed and tried to look calm when I followed him to the hallway, he led me towards the staircase. There were plenty of torches hanging on the walls, lighting up the dark hallway. Neither of us said anything, I was too nervous and he probably didn't have anything more to say. Klaus was waiting for me downstairs. He was wearing a black tunic and trousers, black and gold belt and leather boots. He smiled when he saw me.

"Well… You look lovely, sweetheart."

"Thank you," I murmured tensely.

He offered me his arm and I didn't have much choice but to accept it. Side by side we walked to the hall, two servants opened the doors. I saw men and women standing in small groups, they were chatting and having drinks. There were maybe 30 of them, not as many as I had thought. The hall had been lighted up with hundreds of candles and there was a long table placed in the middle of the room. The table had already been set, so apparently we would have dinner. I scanned the room as quickly as I could and noticed Elijah and Rebekah; they were talking with a callous bearded man who kept nodding.

"Here is our host!" a loud man's voice announced. I saw that it belonged to a dark-haired, medium high man, who had had a black goatee. He was wearing a red and gold tunic; his features could have been handsome without the coldness in his eyes. He had wrapped his arms around two beautiful women who were rubbing themselves against him.

"Geoffrey," Klaus greeted him. "How nice that you were able to come."

"Of course, I would not have missed this," the man replied. The women kept touching him, like he would have been the only person in the room; they didn't pay any attention to anyone else. I saw the wounds on their neck and neckline, right above their bosom. He was definitely a demon.

"Welcome everyone," Klaus said after he had all his guests undivided attention. "It is nice to see you all here…"

I looked at the crowd while he spoke and I was almost sure that at least some of them were human.

"And this lovely little creature is Liliya," he said touching my hair.

I was uncomfortable to say the least when everyone was suddenly staring at me. Some of them seemed curious; others probably couldn't have cared less about my presence. Geoffrey was the first one who approached me, he certainly was curious.

"How cute. May I?" he asked looking at Klaus.

May he what? I looked at Klaus cautiously, but he merely nodded.

"You may."

I was about to protest when Geoffrey took my hand and raised it to his lips. He sniffed me before kissing my hand; I felt his tongue touching my skin. I was too stunned to react, had he actually just licked me?

"Lovely, absolutely lovely," he said and touched my hair. "How long have you had this delightful little thing?"

"For a while," Klaus replied. "I have been very pleased with her so far."

I glared at him when some of his other guests also wanted to touch me; they all kept saying how cute I was. My face was turning red with humiliation; they treated me like I would have actually been his pet. Klaus on the other hand seemed pleased; he explained how he had "trained" me. I kept my eyes mostly on the floor but I noticed that Elijah didn't look pleased.

"How old is she?" some woman asked. She had a tanned olive skin and piercing, almost grey eyes. Her hair was black and she had a slight accent. Klaus had called her Amira. Her companion was a tall bald man, whose skin was as tanned as hers; he was dressed like everyone else, but he had some weird symbols on his neck. Maybe he was one of those Moors I had heard about. He looked at me and smiled, but there was definitely something scary about his smile.

"Little cutie," he said and pet me with his large hand.

I gritted my teeth, trying to control my urge to bite him. It seemed that they weren't the only non-English guests; few of them had some kind of foreign accent.

"Arnault," Klaus greeted a short, mean looking man, he was gazing at me like a piece of meat. I flinched when he kissed my hand, definitely longer than was necessary.

"She smells like the first drops of summer rain," he said softly. "I envy you, my lord"

Well that guy was just creepy. For some reason he reminded me of a rat with his small sharp eyes. Fortunately "the pleasantries" were finally over, it was time to eat. I was hoping that I could sit next to Elijah, but Klaus made me sit next to him at the end of the table. Thankfully Elijah and Rebekah were on his other side; Elijah gave me a reassuring smile.

Everyone seemed pleased, they were talking and laughing. There was all kind of food on the table, pork, lamb, fish, partridge, vegetables, pies, cheese, bread, wine etc. At least 20 servants were standing next to the wall; they all had the same blank expression. For a moment I wondered why there were so many of them, then I saw one of the guests, a redheaded man called Nial or something like that, raising his goblet. One of the servants moved next to him, cut his own wrist and poured the blood into the goblet. I was shocked, my mouth floundered open and closed.

"Niklaus…" Elijah murmured tensely.

Klaus frowned; it took a moment before he understood what the problem was. He turned to look at me and stroked my hair calmingly, I tried not to tremble.

"My sweet little sparrow… I am afraid this is something you must get used to."

I stared at him disbelievingly, get used to? How could he say that? I gritted my teeth, there was no way I would cry. Block it out… He observed me for a while and looked pleased.

"Good girl. Now eat."

I definitely had no appetite, but I managed to swallow few bites. Could this night be over already? Unfortunately it was merely getting started; a servant brought my violin next to the table. No, no, no…

"Dear friends, my little Liliya will play for us now. And please note that four months ago she had never even touched a violin."

Everyone was once again looking at me, could this get any worse? Somehow I managed to stand up and pick up the damn violin. I didn't look at any of them; it was easier to pretend that I was alone in my chamber. Then I just played. I made few mistakes, but at least I played. They all clapped after I was finished.

"Wonderful, wonderful!" I heard Geoffrey's voice saying. "My lord has done an amazing work with her."

"Well, it has taken a lot of patience…"

I couldn't really hear what they were saying, I saw another servant approaching the table like a lamb going to the slaughter. She didn't look scared, her face was completely blank. Block it out…

"That is not all she can do," I suddenly heard Klaus saying. Few servants carried in some of my paintings and hung them on the wall. Most of the guests stood up and went to take a closer look.

"She painted these?" someone asked. "Impressive."

They were talking about art now; that was one of Klaus' favorite subjects. I tried to stay as unnoticed as possible, but of course he wanted me to tell his guests about my paintings.

"There is nothing to tell," I murmured after Klaus had motioned me to move next to him. "I paint, that is all."

"Well, I would love for you to paint my portrait," Geoffrey said. "What do you think, sweetheart, can you make me to look handsome?"

I clenched my fists and slowly looked up. He was standing there with those two human women, grinning arrogantly.

"Not if you wish the portrait to be accurate," I replied icily.

A complete silence followed my words, Geoffrey seemed genuinely surprised. Oh no… I was sure that Klaus would be furious when they all suddenly burst into laughter.

"Touché, little lady," the tall bald guy chuckled. As strange as that was, even his laughter sounded scary. Geoffrey was laughing as well.

"I will have you know that I have plenty of inner beauty," he argued.

"Of course you do," the bald guy replied. "And I have plenty of hair."

Well, they seemed to have fun. I didn't think that anyone wanted more of my opinions, so I tried to find a place where I could spend the rest of the evening. I was already exhausted, I hadn't slept much last night and I hadn't got used to stay up this late. I had no idea how long the celebration had lasted, but I was sure that it was way past midnight already. After a moment a consideration, I chose a chair near the fireplace, I could nestle there. Klaus seemed to be busy with his guests; Rebekah was talking with some young man and Elijah with the nodding bearded guy.

Few musicians had started to play and the redheaded guy pulled a servant girl on his lap, apparently he didn't want to drink from a goblet anymore. Few other guests followed his example; I wrapped my arms around me and turned my head away. There were no screams of terror, no cries, only cheerful chatting and laughter. Despite of my surroundings, I was so tired that I could barely keep my eyes open. I had no idea how long I was on that chair, on the verge of falling asleep, before Rebekah approached me. She bit her bottom lip and turned to look at someone else.

"Elijah," she said and nodded towards me.

I startled when he suddenly appeared next to me. He didn't say anything; he simply bent down and scooped me up. His other arm went under my knees, the other wrapped around my back.

"Let's get you to bed," he said quietly.

Maybe I should have insisted to walk, but I was too tired to care. Not to mention he was going to take me away from here, I definitely wasn't going to argue. I sighed sleepily and leaned my head on his shoulder when he carried me upstairs. How was it possible that I was able to be this relaxed after everything? What should I do then? Scream? Cry? What difference would that make? This was the world I would have to live in, the world of demons. Adjusting was the only way to survive and keep myself from losing my mind. It was a scary thought, but what choice did I have? I barely noticed when Elijah opened the door to my chamber.

"My lord…" Margaret's voice said, apparently she had kept the fire in the fireplace so the room would be warm when I would get here.

"You can go," Elijah said.

"Yes, my lord. Good night."

Elijah placed me on the bed and tucked me in; I felt his fingers touching my cheek.

"You are a brave girl, Liliya," he murmured.

Brave? No, I wasn't. After tonight I didn't even know what I was.


	17. Just curiosity

**Chapter 16**

**Just curiosity**

6 months later

"Kol!" Rebekah said smiling and kissed her brother's cheeks. "It is good to see you, brother."

"Yes, it is good to see you too, Bekah," Kol replied.

"What brings you here?" Nik asked.

Kol shrugged.

"Nothing special, I merely wanted to spend some time in England for a change."

That was partly true; it was nice to come back after spending so much time abroad. Yet it had taken him months to finally get here, he had changed his mind several times during his journey. Perhaps he should have reconsidered this one more time.

"Well, you are always welcome," Nik said. "How long are you planning to stay?"

"Until I get bored, as always."

Nik grinned.

"Yes, you have always enjoyed a drifter's life. Personally I do not understand why, I find it very inconvenient."

"I get bored easily," Kol replied. "You know I am always looking for new ways to entertain myself."

"Yes and your timing is perfect; we will have a group of actors here tomorrow night, they will perform some new play, a comedy I was told."

"Hmm, sounds interesting, I have not been in a theatre for a while."

Kol looked around and noticed two servants and Nik's witch Joanne, she was sitting at the table reading something. There wasn't anyone else at the hall.

"If you are looking for Elijah he is not here," Rebekah said. "He will be away for few days."

"Hmm, I see," Kol muttered. He hadn't looked for Elijah, but his siblings didn't need to know that. As ridiculous as it was, he was curious to see the girl. She was definitely still alive, although the echoes had become weaker, just like Bianka had said. Yet he wanted to see would her presence affect the whole thing.

"So," Kol started, keeping his tone neutral. "Have you taken a new blood pet?"

Nik frowned.

"What?"

Kol raised an eyebrow.

"The girl from Bulgaria?"

"Oh, right. No, she is still here."

"Really? You have not got bored with her yet?"

Nik smirked.

"No, that one is a keeper."

Something about his brother's tone really irritated Kol. Those warm feelings of hers… Were they towards Nik? Not that he cared of course, this was purely curiosity. An experiment, so to speak. Why couldn't she be older… He would have definitely bedded her, just se see how it would feel.

"Where is Liliya anyway?" Rebekah asked. "I heard that she missed her violin lesson this morning."

"She had my permission," Nik replied. "You know Geoffrey is coming to see her tonight."

Rebekah rolled her eyes.

"Yes, the portrait… How is that coming along?"

"Fine, I think she is almost finished."

"I can not understand why you agreed to that…"

"Wait, what?" Kol interrupted her. "Your blood pet is painting Geoffrey's portrait?"

Kol had only met Geoffrey few times and he didn't like the guy, he was one of Nik's toadies.

"Yes, she is very talented," Nik said. "I can show you some of her paintings…"

"Maybe later," Kol replied carelessly. Liliya… At least he knew the girl's name now.

"I would guess that she is at the stables," Nik said, answering Rebekah's original question.

Rebekah seemed amused.

"Yes, she does love to play with…the horses."

Nik grinned.

"Oh yes, she does. Hopefully soon…"

Kol frowned, what were his siblings talking about? Not that it mattered; he felt a sudden need to check on his horse. It was an Arabian after all, he have had to kill two men in order to have it. After some more pointless chitchat, he said that he needed to stretch his legs before lunch. Thankfully neither Nik nor Rebekah offered to accompany him; they both seemed to have other things to do.

Slowly Kol headed towards the stables, he was in no hurry. The servants who he passed didn't react to his presence in any way; they merely bowed their head briefly like they would have done to any guest of Nik's. Kol found their lack of fear irritating and he would certainly fix that grievance as soon as he had time. Well, he would have time; he was planning to stay for a while. He passed two stable boys in front of the stables; they had three horses with them.

Finally he entered the stable and looked around. Just horses… Wait… He picked up some giggling, that must be the girl. Where was it coming from? He bit his bottom lip and listened closer. There was a haystack in one of the stalls; the female voice was definitely coming from there. He looked inside and noticed a young man who was on top of a woman, they were kissing passionately and her arms were tightly around him. That couldn't be the girl, it was probably some maid. They rolled around; she was on top of him now. Her back was turned, the only thing Kol saw was silky dark brown hair spreading down her back like a waterfall. No way… He didn't have time to decide his next move when the young man noticed him.

"Can I help you, sir?" he asked.

The girl turned around, clearly annoyed by the disturbance. It was her alright, his human. She looked at him attentively, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Oh…" she murmured. "You."

Kol's eyes narrowed, he certainly wasn't pleased. For some reason he was angry as hell.

"My horse needs water," he stated icily. "Now."

The boy stood up as quickly as he could and bowed before leaving. The girl huffed and stretched her arms before standing up. She was wearing a pale green side lacing dress; carelessly she picked hays from her hair.

"Forgive me sir, I do not know your name," she said calmly. Her English was very good, although she still had a strong accent.

"Kol," he murmured.

She made a small but graceful curtsy.

"Meeting a friend of my beloved master again fills my heart with joy. Our previous meeting was so delightful."

Kol stared at her disbelievingly, she smiled at him sweetly. What…

"I am his brother," he corrected automatically.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Really? Well, I should have known that, you are as charming as him."

She kept her tone calm and polite, but it didn't take a genius to figure out what she really meant.

"Excuse me," she said and tried to get past him, but he blocked her way. She clenched her fists and slowly looked up. He couldn't see any fear, only ice-cold anger. There was something very different about the girl; he just couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Excuse me," she repeated. "My master is waiting for me and he does not like to wait. He might come here looking for me."

Kol smiled, once again the meaning behind her words was very clear; she tried to scare him. How cute. And she was quite a talented little liar, Nik wasn't expecting her.

"Oh, I think he can wait a little longer," he replied smoothly and raised his hand.

She didn't move when he touched her hair, she didn't even flinch. It was almost as she would have been used to being touched like this. He kept the smile on his face while picking hay she had missed.

"There, that's better."

Clearly she was surprised, but that didn't last for long.

"Thank you, sir, how very kind of you."

"You are welcome, sweetheart. Liliya, right?"

She nodded rigidly.

"Yes."

He took her hand and kissed it. For a moment he felt the need to puncture her skin and taste her again, but he simply sniffed her. Surprisingly that didn't startle her either, she looked perfectly calm and waited patiently until he let go of her hand; she didn't try to yank it away.

"Well, go to your master then."

She didn't need to be told twice, she left immediately. That certainly hadn't been what he had expected. What the hell was going on here?


	18. A delicate flower

**Thank you for your reviews, favs and alerts :) I'll try to add more Rebekah in the story and about the story going along with the show, to be honest I'm not completely sure yet. I have two possible options, I'm not sure will the story reach the present time or will I end it before that. There's a scene in this chapter that might upset someone, I'm not sure what kind of warning I should put here, I'll mark it with ooooooooooooooo just in case. Again, there's a link to Liliya's dress on my profile page.**

**Chapter 17**

**A delicate flower**

"So, how are things in Poland these days?" Nik asked.

Kol shrugged.

"Same old, same old, you know how humans are. Always plotting and fighting for power, it's all so boring."

"Yes, I agree. I am not very interested in political matters, but I have to know a thing or two about them."

Kol leaned back on the armchair and picked up his goblet. Nik was sitting on the sofa opposite him and the girl was sitting on the soft rug next to Nik's feet. She was reading something and she didn't seem to pay any attention to their conversation. Nik's hand was carelessly stroking her hair. Kol was still trying to understand what was going on, why his brother was keeping the girl.

"Well, I see that you have trained your human," he muttered.

If he wasn't mistaken the girl's body tensed a little, but she kept her eyes on her book. Nik grinned.

"My little sparrow knows who she belongs to. Isn't that right, sweetheart?"

"Yes," she replied callously.

For a moment Kol was unsure of how to continue. Was it possible that his big bad brother was actually fond of this human? Well that was just ridiculous, in the end Nik didn't care about anyone, except himself. They had that in common.

"And you do not mind her acting like a common whore with some filthy stable boy?"

The girl looked up now and if a look could have killed, he would have been dead. Well, deader. He smirked at her, but Nik certainly didn't look pleased.

"I have encouraged my little one to have friends; I believe that is good for her."

"Really?" Kol said softly. "Perhaps she would like to be my 'friend' then."

Nik rolled his eyes.

"Manners Kol, she is still very young."

"Hmm, I thought so too..."

The girl was looking at him coldly, but her expression changed when she looked at Nik, she blinked her eyes looking frightened.

"There, there, sweetheart," Nik said calmingly. "My brother has a terrible sense of humor, but he will not harm you."

"Thank you, master," she said and leaned her head on Nik's knee. Kol wanted to laugh; she was quite a talented little actress. Interesting…

"Excuse me, my lords," a servant said from the door. "Lord Geoffrey is here."

"Send him in," Nik said and helped the girl to her feet before Geoffrey marched inside.

"There she is! My little artist."

The girl was smiling politely.

"My lord," she said and curtsied.

"Geoffrey," Nik greeted him. "You remember my brother Kol?"

Kol didn't bother to stand up; he merely glanced at the younger vampire.

"Yes, of course. It is nice to meet you again."

"Hmm," Kol muttered and took a sip from his goblet. If his rudeness offended Geoffrey he didn't show it, he was smiling.

"I brought a little gift for the little lady," he said and handed her a small box. The girl seemed curious; she looked at Nik in order to have his permission to open the box.

"Go ahead, sweetheart."

Eagerly she opened the box and picked up some weird looking brown lump.

"It is called chocolate," Geoffrey explained. "I ordered it from Spanish monks, it is very expensive."

"Oh… Forgive me, my lord, but what does one do with this…chocolate?" she asked.

Nik and Geoffrey laughed.

"It is eatable, sweetheart," Nik said. "A delicacy. Go ahead, take a bite."

She hesitated and looked at the lump before taking a cautious bite. Her eyes widened in wonder.

"Good, is it not?" Geoffrey said.

She nodded.

"Yes, delicious. Thank you, my lord."

Geoffrey smiled and touched her hair.

"You are welcome. Shall we get started then?"

For some reason Kol was very annoyed, he didn't say anything before Geoffrey and the girl had left.

"You allow other people to touch your human?" he asked carelessly.

Nik turned to look at him.

"What?"

"Honestly, brother, what are you doing with her? Is she your lover?"

"I do not touch children," Nik replied coldly. "She is mine and what I do with her is my business."

Clearly that was all Nik was going to say. Annoying, but no matter, Kol was sure that he would sooner or later find out what his brother was hiding.

* * *

"You sir were caught caressing my wife's bosom," an actor on the small stage said. "How will you defend yourself?"

Five other actors who were sitting at the table stood up.

"I did not do it," they all said simultaneously.

The first actor looked appalled.

"You…all of you… Beatrice!"

An actress whose gown had a very open neckline shrugged. Everyone laughed; the play seemed to be a success. The stage had been set at the hall; it was lighted up with candles and torches. Kol was sitting on the front row next to Rebekah; Liliya was sitting on her other side next to Nik. She was wearing a burgundy gown and her hair was down. She watched the play attentively, although it was quite vulgar, the kind that commoners enjoyed.

There were plenty of guests, humans and vampires. Kol noticed that Nik had also arranged few prostitutes here; apparently this would be quite a celebration. He certainly had no problem with that. After the play it was time to eat and drink. The musicians were playing and people were starting to be drunk and cheerful. One of the guests was chasing a giggling half naked prostitute across the hall; the celebration was starting to get wild.

Kol looked around, pondering which woman to choose when he noticed Liliya who was sitting calmly at the table. She didn't seem to even notice the man next to her; he was sucking and nipping some woman's breasts, leaving a bloody trail. Kol frowned, why was the girl still here? Nik should have sent her to her chamber after the play. And he sounded just like Elijah… Ridiculous, she seemed fine. She didn't look scared or even distressed. That was actually kind of strange.

"Would my lord like to have some company?" a woman's voice asked, cutting off his thoughts. A pretty little brunette was standing next to him, smiling seductively and twirling her hair around her finger.

"Why not," he replied and chose a chair next to the wall. The woman sat on his lap and started to caress him. This was definitely his kind of celebration. From the corner of his eye he noticed that Liliya stood up and walked in front of Nik who was sitting on a sofa with two women. He had already fed on both of them; there was blood on his face.

"Excuse me, master," she said calmly. "May I go to sleep?"

Nik looked up and smiled.

"Sure, sweetheart. Give me a kiss."

She bent down and kissed his cheek.

"Good night, master."

She walked calmly past the loud celebrating crowd and disappeared to the hallway. Someone went after her, Kol recognized the man as Arnault. Dammit… He knew the guy well enough to dislike him; he was wicked even by Kol's standards. Even though Kol was no saint, he didn't touch children. According to the rumors, Arnault had no problem with that, on the contrary. Dammit, dammit, dammit. Would Arnault be stupid enough to touch Nik's human? Kol gritted his teeth and pushed the woman away.

"Wait here, I will be back soon," he ordered and headed towards the hallway. It was empty, he zoomed towards the staircase. Then he heard something from another hallway.

"Do not make a sound," Arnault's voice said. "You and I will play a little, but you won't remember it afterwards."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The hallway was dark; Kol saw that Arnault had trapped Liliya against the stone wall. His hands were brutally groping her, he saw the terror in her eyes, but that only lasted a brief moment.

"Who wants some filthy harlots," he groaned. "I like my girls young and firm."

Kol was disgusted and angry at the same time; he was just about to intervene when Liliya suddenly smiled and touched Arnault's cheek. He seemed stunned.

"I knew you are a naughty girl," he chuckled. "What do you want to give to me, little one?"

She caressed his neck and kissed him. What the hell? Then Kol noticed that her hand was reaching for something in her neckline.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

It was a small dagger; she sank it into Arnault's neck without hesitation. He cried out in pain, apparently there was vervain on the dagger. His eyes filled with rage, he was about to attack Liliya.

"Ah ah," she said calmly and took a step back. "My master does not appreciate anyone damaging his property."

Arnault seemed completely stunned.

"I compelled you…" after a brief pause he seemed to figure out what was going on. "Does your master know that his little whore is on vervain?" he asked venomously.

Liliya smiled.

"Perhaps you should ask him, but know this, if you tattle, I will tattle as well and believe me, what ever he might do to me, will be nothing comparing to what he will do to you."

Arnault looked furious, but surprisingly he didn't say anything.

"Good night, sir," Liliya said politely and walked away. Kol made sure that she didn't see him, he was smiling. Well, well, that had been interesting. Arnault snarled angrily and slammed his fist against the wall. Kol's smile vanished. Clearly the barbarian needed to be taught a lesson.


	19. Saving damsels in distress

**Chapter 18**

**Saving damsels in distress**

I had to struggle in order to stay calm when I walked away from that bastard, I partly expected him to attack me in any second. He wouldn't call my bluff, I was almost sure of it, he was just as afraid of Klaus as the rest of them, but that definitely didn't mean that this thing would be over. He would do everything in his power to make me pay, no matter how long it would take. Great, that kind of enemy was the last thing I needed. I walked faster and tried not to shiver, I felt that I really needed a bath.

I still felt his hands on my body; touching places even Daniel hadn't touched. He had always been a perfect gentleman with me and respected my boundaries. I allowed myself to run when I reached the staircase, I didn't want to bump into anyone right now. I needed Brigette and I prayed that she would be in my chamber. Thankfully she was in her usual place in front of the fireplace, knitting and humming some Irish song. She looked up when I ran inside and closed the door behind me. I was panting and my heart was pounding fast. She stood up immediately and moved in front of me.

"What happened?"

I shook my head; I needed a moment in order to catch my breath. She led me determinedly to the bed, made me to sit down and poured me a glass of water. While I drank, she picked up one of the small bags she had hidden all over my chamber and lighted it up, mumbling a spell.

"It is safe to speak," she said and sat down next to me.

I bowed my head, I felt embarrassed, but finally I managed to tell her what had happened. She pressed her lips together and guided my head on her lap.

"It's alright," she said stroking my hair. "You did well."

"I was stupid," I murmured. "I should have asked someone to escort me, now that bastard knows about the vervain…"

"Hey, hey, you did not do anything wrong. As I have told you over and over again, men are beasts, no matter what species they are; you must never trust any of them."

"But Daniel…"

"No, not even him. Do you understand?"

I nodded, after tonight I definitely understood.

"Poor child," she murmured and kept stroking my hair. Brigette wasn't that much older then me, probably 19 or 20. She had curly red hair and dark brown eyes, usually she looked very serious. I had no idea what I would have done without her, she was much more than my maid, she was my friend. I still had no idea what had happened to Helen and Margaret, one day they had simply disappeared. Well, that happened in this place, people just vanished. I had liked Brigette immediately; she had done so much for me, taught and guided me.

"What if he tells Klaus," I murmured.

"He won't," Brigette replied reassuringly. "He knows that Klaus would tear him into pieces for touching you."

"Yes, his little pet," I muttered bitterly.

"Hey, we have talked about this, you are a strong girl; you will do what you have to do in order to survive. Men might be beasts, but that does not mean that we can not use them. We are not helpless."

I nodded.

"I know and please do not think that I am not grateful for everything you have taught me."

"My pleasure," she replied and kissed my forehead. "I think what you need now is a nice warm bath. How does that sound?"

I smiled.

"Wonderful, you are an angel."

"Far from it," she huffed. "But no matter, my wings would have burned a long time ago."

* * *

Klaus rubbed his temples, trying to decide whether he should laugh or cry. What a bloody mess. Was that a liver?

"Alright…" he started. "Now Kol, perhaps you did not know this, but slaughtering someone else's guest is not usually considered to be very appropriate behavior."

Kol was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Yes, you are probably right," he replied casually.

Klaus glared at him, trying to avoid stepping on any body part on the floor. His boots were brand new and he didn't want to ruin them.

"Do I want to know why you did this?"

Kol shrugged.

"For fun, I was bored."

"I see," Klaus murmured through clenched teeth. "And you had no problem disrespecting the home of your family…"

"This guy was not exactly respectful either," Kol snorted. "I caught him groping your pet."

Klaus' eyes narrowed.

"What?"

"Yes, not a pretty sight. People are so rude these days, would you agree…"

Klaus turned around and marched towards the staircase. He didn't stop before he reached Liliya's chamber and opened the door without knocking. She was in the bathtub; her maid stood up and covered her quickly with a bathrobe before curtsying.

"My lord."

"Leave us," Klaus said without even looking at the maid. She curtsied again and obeyed. Liliya wasn't looking at him, she seemed very nervous.

"Is…something wrong, master?" she asked.

"Are you injured?" Klaus asked callously.

She swallowed; he picked up her fastened heartbeat.

"Injured? No, master, why do you…"

"I know what happened with Arnault," he interrupted her.

She was truly scared now, but she managed to stay surprisingly calm.

"Now I ask again, are you injured?"

She shook her head, but he wasn't convinced. If Arnault had damaged her private parts…

"I will send some of my witches here to examine you…"

"No," she said quickly and finally looked at him. "Please. I am fine, I swear."

Klaus gazed at her for a while and moved next to the bathtub. She wrapped the bathrobe tighter around her, clearly her lack of clothing made her feel vulnerable.

"Tell me everything what happened," he demanded.

She swallowed.

"I…I was on my way to my chamber when he… It all happened so fast, I…"

"What did he do?"

She hesitated, clearly getting more nervous.

"He…touched me, it was terrible, I was so scared…"

Her eyes were watering up and she started to sob. Usually Klaus couldn't stand crying humans but this was his human, his property that someone had dared to damage.

"There, there, little sparrow," he murmured and scooped her up from the bathtub. The bathrobe around her was soaking wet, he carried her in front of the fireplace, handed her a blanket and turned around in order to give her some privacy.

"I am ready," she said quietly. The bathrobe was on the floor and she had wrapped the blanket around her. He gazed at her attentively; he noticed immediately the bruises on her arms.

"Did he hurt you worse than that?"

She shook her head.

"No, master, he did not have time."

Klaus raised his eyebrows.

"How did you get away?"

She hesitated.

"I…I…"

"I thought that part was obvious," Kol's voice said from the door. "I told you I saw the guy harassing her."

Klaus turned to look at his brother.

"And you saved her?" he asked disbelievingly.

Kol shrugged.

"I did not have anything better to do at the moment. And besides, I am a gentleman, saving damsels in distress is what I do," he added and winked at Liliya.

Klaus rolled his eyes.

"Right, sure and I like to help orphans and widows… But thank you, I won't forget this."

"Yes you will," Kol snorted.

Klaus smirked, his brother certainly knew him well. He turned back to Liliya who had wrapped her arms around her; she was looking at Kol. Her look was cautious and confused.

"Try to get some sleep, sweetheart," Klaus said and kissed her forehead.

Somehow she managed to smile.

"Yes, thank you, my lord. And thank you," she added looking at Kol.

"No problem," he replied casually. "Sweet dreams, little Liliya."

Kol seemed utterly pleased with himself when they walked to the hallway. That usually wasn't a good thing, but Klaus suspected that Kol wanted some kind of return service; his little brother didn't do things out of the goodness of his heart. What might he have in mind…

"What is this?" Kol suddenly asked.

Klaus stopped and turned to look at him, he was staring at the painting on the wall. It was one of Liliya's, a woman who looked afraid. He had wondered where did she get her ideas from, she claimed that she had never met any of the women she painted. Yet they were perfect, happy, sad, scared, she knew how to describe their emotions.

"Liliya painted this," Klaus replied.

"Hmm, did she now…" Kol murmured. "What else have she painted?"

Klaus frowned; Kol seemed suddenly very interested in her art.

"Mostly these different female characters, I can show you some of her other work."

Kol's face was blank and he had pressed his lips together

"Yes, I would love to see them all."


	20. Truth or die

**Chapter 19**

**Truth or die**

Talk about a déjà vu… Kol stared at the faces of the women he had bedded, toy with and killed. But yet here they were, looking at him from the canvases. As Nik had said, Liliya had captured them flawlessly, every little detail was perfect.

"She is very talented would you agree?" Nik asked.

"Hmm," Kol murmured. She was talented alright… Dammit. He had imagined that the whole blood bond thing could offer him some temporary amusement, an opportunity to play with her until she would be old enough to be bedded. He had decided that he wanted to take her innocence; the stable boy was already as good as dead.

That had been before he had seen her paintings. Apparently the blood bond wasn't as harmless as he had thought; who knew what she had seen. That made her an enormous risk; he certainly didn't want everyone to know his private matters, what he did and who he met. What should he do then? Well, there was the simple solution, killing her, but that could be tricky knowing Nik's temper and his damn daggers. Perhaps there was some other solution…

First he needed to find out what exactly she knew. Kol smirked, that shouldn't be too difficult. Despite of her acting skills, the vervain and the fact that she had somehow wrapped Nik around her little finger, she was still a young human girl. She would tell him everything what he wanted to know.

* * *

I looked at my opponent who was almost twice my size, and attacked, shouting out some kind of battle cry. That always amused my teacher, he was grinning while effortlessly blocking my attack with his sword.

"Good, little one," he said. "Come on, cut me."

That was easier said than done, Gareth was probably the most skilled swordsman I had ever seen, not to mention he was a demon. And he was definitely the scariest guy I had met, right after Klaus. He was a sadistic monster who enjoyed finding new ways to torture people, but he also loved sensitive violin music, as strange as that was. I had played for him few times and one time his eyes had actually watered up.

If I wouldn't have heard the screams of his victims, I might have thought that he wasn't so bad. He really was so bad but he had his moments, I had been so happy when Klaus had allowed him to teach me how to use a sword. The main reason why Klaus had agreed to that was actually very annoying, he thought that I looked adorable holding a big heavy sword and he often wanted to watch my lessons. Thankfully he wasn't here now; I really wanted to concentrate on practicing. Maybe a sword wouldn't protect me against demons, but it was definitely better than nothing.

I tried and tried, obviously Gareth was using only a small amount of his skills and strength, but still I had no chance to really hurt him, unless he would allow me to. Sometimes he did, but he enjoyed being cut a little too much, it was kind of creepy. Not that it mattered; I had to admit that sometimes hurting him and watching him bleed made me feel a little better. What did that make me? It was probably best not to think about that. I kept shouting and tried a vertical slash, aiming to his shoulder.

"Good, good," he said while stopping my sword with his. "You are angry, use that. Do you want to hurt me?"

"Yes!" I shouted and attacked again. I imagined that he was the bastard who had attacked me.

He grinned and licked his lips.

"What do you want to do to me, little one?"

"I…want…you…to…die!" I shouted, emphasizing my every word with another slash.

"Beautiful…" he murmured biting his bottom lip. "More details, tell me…"

Suddenly someone started to clap.

"Bravo! Wonderful!"

I froze; Klaus' brother was standing in the doorway.

"My lord," Gareth murmured.

"The lesson is over, you can go," Kol said smiling charmingly.

Gareth left without saying a word. I was still standing in the middle of the hall, panting and squishing the hilt of my sword.

"Well," Kol started cheerfully and approached me slowly, like a cat stalking its prey. "You certainly know how to turn on kinky men."

I pressed my lips together and glared at him.

"No, no, do not get me wrong," he said grinning. "I do not find that a bad thing, on the contrary."

"What do you want…my lord?" I asked tensely.

He raised his eyebrows.

"Why so hostile, sweetheart, I thought that we are friends."

He couldn't be serious, but I was smart enough for not to snort.

"Of course, if my lord wishes so," I replied using my sweetest smile. Once again I silently thanked Brigette for making me to practice it so much in front of the mirror. I had no idea why this man had helped me last night, but I was sure that he wanted something in return for lying to Klaus. Their family seemed to be very strange, even by demon's standards; it would be very useful to understand their dynamics better. I liked Elijah and Rebekah, mostly because they weren't like Klaus, but this other brother of theirs certainly was. I knew that I had to be very careful with him.

"Wonderful," he said. "In order to celebrate our friendship, I want to give you a little gift."

That didn't sound good at all.

"My lord is very kind, but I can not possibly…"

"Oh, nonsense! Come with me."

Only an idiot would have agreed, every part of my mind was screaming warnings at me. I had to think fast, he already looked impatient.

"Thank you very much, my lord, but I am afraid I can not right now…"

He was in front of me before I managed to finish my sentence, all his cheerfulness was gone, there was only darkness in his eyes.

"I was not asking," he said coldly and grabbed my arm. His hand covered my mouth before I could make a sound.

"If you scream, that will be the last sound you will ever make. Do you understand?"

He was very much serious, I could see it. Stay calm… I nodded. He gazed at me for a brief moment before removing his hand. His other hand yanked the sword from my hand and threw it on the floor.

"Not a peep, sweetheart," he warned and started to drag me towards the hallway. No, no, my box was still on the table, my chocolate was in there. I had planned to go and see Daniel after my lesson and share the rest of the treat with him. Was I crazy for worrying about that now, I needed a plan and fast. Tears? No, too risky, he certainly didn't seem like a guy who was even capable of feeling sympathy. Fainting? Definitely not. Perhaps a simple politeness? It was worth a shot, especially since I had no idea what he wanted from me. He marched across the hallway, tightening his grip around my arm. I had trouble keeping up with him. A servant passed us and bowed briefly, I didn't even consider asking for his help; that would have been completely pointless.

"Forgive me, my lord, but I am afraid my legs are shorter than yours, could you be so kind and slow down a little?"

I was proud of myself for sounding so calm; surprisingly he actually did slow down, but he didn't loosen his grip.

"Thank you, my lord."

He didn't say anything and I couldn't see his face. Think, think… Unfortunately I was out of time; he opened a door and shoved me inside. I was in a bedchamber, his bedchamber. I swallowed, but somehow I managed to stay calm. That was until I saw the two men standing next to the wall, Daniel and someone who I didn't know.

"Daniel!" I cried out and ran to him. His face was completely blank; he was staring in front of him. I touched his face, but he didn't react in any way.

"My love?"

I shook him and cupped his face, but nothing helped, he just stood there like a statue. I almost let out a sob, but I managed to pull myself together before slowly turning to face Kol. He stood next to the fireplace, his arms crossed over his chest. If I wasn't mistaken he was bored.

"What have you done to him?" I asked icily.

He smiled.

"The boy is fine. For now."

I had to struggle in order to stay calm.

"What do you want?"

"I want you to pay attention," he said and moved in front of the other man. "Now look closely."

I frowned, what was I supposed to… I didn't have time to even finish my thought when he slammed his fist trough the poor man's chest and ripped his heart out. Then he turned to me, smiling charmingly and crushed the heart. I couldn't move, a part of me wanted to scream, but I didn't make a sound, I just stared at him. Why? I didn't ask the question out loud, I doubted that I would like the answer.

"Impressive, sweetheart," he purred. "No tears, I like that."

"What do you want?" I asked again, this time my voice sounded foreign.

He looked at his bloody hand and licked his fingers clean.

"Hmm, not bad, a little too salty. Now, let's get to the point, shall we."

I waited for him to continue, even though I was afraid of what he would say.

"I will now ask you some questions and if you lie to me, even once, the next heart in my hand will be your precious stable boy's. Is that clear?"

I shivered, trying to fight against my terror. I couldn't let him to hurt Daniel.

"Yes," I murmured.

He smiled.

"Wonderful. Now tell me about your paintings."

I was stunned, that was the last thing I had expected.

"My paintings?"

"Yes, tell me who the women you have painted are."

Was this some kind of joke? Either way it was best to play along.

"I…I do not know who they are, I just painted them."

His eyes narrowed.

"From where did you get the idea to paint them?"

I hesitated, what was I supposed to tell him?

"I am waiting," he said warningly.

"I saw them in my dreams," I blurted out, even though it sounded stupid. "It's the truth, I swear."

His gaze was piercing, for a moment I was sure that he didn't believe me. No, no, no, I had to do something; I couldn't let him to hurt Daniel…

"Tell me about these dreams," he ordered callously.

I tried desperately to understand why he was asking these questions, but I couldn't think of any reason. Maybe he simply wanted to toy with me.

"There isn't much to tell, I can not really understand these dreams myself. Usually they are nightmares; people are scared or sad, but sometimes…"

I bit my tongue; stop talking for heaven's sake…

"Sometimes what?" he asked demandingly.

"Nothing…" I started and gasped when he was suddenly in front of Daniel. "No!" I shouted.

"I warned you not to lie…"

"Wait, wait, please!" I shouted desperately. "I will tell you what ever you want to know, please!"

His hand stopped before it hit Daniel's chest, I was so relieved that I let out a sob.

"Last chance, sweetheart," he said coldly.

I nodded and started quickly to talk.

"Sometimes the women in my dreams are doing normal things, like dancing or laughing, sometimes they are scared, someone is going to hurt them."

"Go on."

What did he want me to say?

"Sometimes they are making this strange sound, like they would be in pain, but they look happy."

"Hmm, what kind of sound?"

This was crazy, why did he want to talk about my dreams?

"I don't know," I replied desperately. "Some kind of…moaning."

His eyes widened, he stared at me disbelievingly.

"Moaning?"

"Yes, they are just dreams," I murmured.

For a moment he seemed almost amused, then his face was callous again. I held still when he stepped in front of me and looked into my eyes.

"Are you satisfied?" I asked tensely.

He smiled and touched my cheek.

"No, no, no, I am merely getting started."


	21. How to keep secrets

**Chapter 20**

**How to keep secrets**

Kol had to struggle in order to stop himself from laughing, this was just hilarious. Liliya was telling him a more detailed version about one of her dreams, a dark-haired girl who had danced in front of a big fireplace. He certainly remembered that girl, she had tasted good. Apparently all Liliya had seen was pits and pieces, short images that she thought were nothing more than weird dreams. For some reason she hadn't seen him, only the women. The most amusing part was that she had seen him having sex with some of these women, but she couldn't understand what she had seen. How sweet and innocent she was…

"When was the last time you had one of these dreams?" he asked, keeping his face free from emotions.

"I am not sure," she murmured. "A week ago, I think."

"Hmm, what happened in that dream?"

There was a glimpse of desperation in her eyes; she glanced at the stable boy.

"Please… It was a nightmare; I really do not want to talk about it…"

He sighed and was about to turn to the stable boy.

"Alright, alright!"

She bowed her head and clenched her fists.

"There was a man and a woman in a carriage, they were smiling and he kissed her hand. Then she… she bit him. He screamed and…"

Kol smiled, oh yes, the nice couple he had met on his way here. The man had warned him to stay away from the woman, so of course he had turned the woman and made her his. It had been so easy, in the end she had almost begged for it.

"Did you paint that dream?" he asked.

She shook her head.

"No, I do not paint all of them, especially if they are…"

She didn't finish her sentence, but he could guess what she meant. Her eyes were still on the floor, so he grabbed her chin and made her to look at him. For some reason he found himself wondering what color her eyes were, not quite blue or green, something in between. She glared at him, trying so hard to look calm and fearless, but of course she was afraid, what human wouldn't be. Yet her self-control was admirable, clearly she had a strong survival instinct. No, it wasn't her survival instinct that caused that little terror right under her shell, it was the boy. She was terrified of losing him. The thought made Kol tense; he didn't like these feelings of hers at all. He hated the idea of some worthless scamp touching her with his filthy hands… Because she was too young, that was the only reason. Definitely. Her expression was more and more cautious, how long had he been quiet?

"For now on you will not paint any of your dreams," he stated callously.

Her eyes widened.

"You killed that poor man because you do not like my paintings?" she asked sharply.

He couldn't help but smile.

"I did not say that, but for now on you will paint something else. Do you understand?"

She looked at him coldly.

"Yes, my lord."

He ran his thumb over her cheek.

"Good. I actually know what you will paint next."

"Perhaps I should not paint anything if that upsets my lord so much…"

"You will paint my portrait," he continued, ignoring her words. "And I expect it to be good."

Her eyebrows furrowed, it wasn't difficult to see that she was angry.

"As my lord wishes," she murmured trough clenched teeth.

He suppressed his smile; as much as he enjoyed her spirit, she needed to fear him more than she obviously did, otherwise she might run straight to Nik with her big tearful eyes, asking for his protection. That didn't suit Kol's plans at all. He grabbed her arms, pulling her as close to him as possible. Her heartbeat was becoming more rapid, she was smart enough to be afraid.

"Let's make something clear, shall we," he started staring into her eyes. "I know about your little tricks, including the vervain and my guess is that my brother does not know. Am I right, sweetheart?"

She didn't say anything, but her body tensed. This was all too easy.

"Now, let us put it this way, I can keep a secret or two, if I have a good reason."

"I see," she murmured. "What might that reason be, my lord?"

"Oh, I am sure that I can think of something. But right now all you need to know is that you do not want to get on my bad side. As hard as it must be to believe, I am not always this nice."

He glanced at the stable boy while talking; making sure that she understood what he meant.

"I will keep your little secrets and allow the boy to live, if, and only if, I will have your obedience."

She pressed her lips together.

"What do you mean by that?"

She was nervous; there was no doubt about that. He smiled and twirled her hair around his finger.

"No need to worry, you are too young for me, as far as the joys of the flesh are concerned."

His words made her blush, she was just delightfully innocent. And she would stay that way as long as he would see fit, he would be the one who would take that innocence.

"You may keep calling my brother your master, but you will do what ever I say when I say it. If you disobey me, I promise that you will not like the consequences. Do you understand?"

She looked at him cautiously and nodded.

"Yes, but…"

"Ah ah," he interrupted her, placing his finger on her lips. "The next word coming from your mouth will determine how many limbs the stable boy will have left when or if he will leave this room, so let's try again. Have we reached an understanding?"

"Yes."

This time her tone was firm, no doubt she would have said anything in order to save the boy. Annoying, but no matter, Kol had already made sure that the scamp would keep his filthy hands to himself. Thanks to his compulsion, the boy would never do anything more than kiss her, not even if she would beg him. Just a little precaution, until he would decide whether having her was worth of Nik's wrath, assuming Nik wouldn't get bored with her. That would certainly make things easier.

* * *

Brigette touched softly the hair of her sleeping protégé and kissed her forehead. Poor child have had a rough day, but now she was finally asleep. Apparently it wasn't enough that Liliya had to deal with Klaus, now his brother wanted something from her as well. That would certainly make things more complicated. Men, they were all pigs. Brigette had always hated them, humans, vampires or what ever species they were. Her mother had been a prostitute and she herself had grown up in a brothel, so she had plenty of reasons to despise men. But as she had said to Liliya, men could be used.

She picked up an agate amulet and looked at it for a moment before placing it under Liliya's mattress. It should offer protection from nightmares, but it hadn't worked so well, Liliya often woke up gasping for air. Maybe Brigette could have tried some stronger spell, but the risk would be too high, some of Klaus' witches might notice something. She was here to keep an eye on Liliya and help her when she could, if she would get caught they would both be in trouble.

After making sure that she was sleeping peacefully, Brigette took a black cloak with her and headed to the hallway. She didn't run into anyone on her way downstairs, the castle seemed quiet. Or not, there was some music and voices coming from the hall. A late dinner probably. Brigette went outside, wore the cloak and headed silently towards the secret passage. Locating it had taken months; thankfully one of the high-level soldiers was quite chatty when he was drunk, all Brigette had needed to do was lace his drink.

She couldn't use the gate; she needed to get out unnoticed. A man was already waiting for her behind the wall with a horse. She didn't know or care who this man was, he had been compelled to bring the horse to her. After a short ride, she reached the woods, dismounted and lit up a torch. She didn't have to wait long when a dark figure appeared between the trees. Brigette smiled.

"Hello, Katerina."


	22. My baby sister

**Chapter 21**

**My baby sister**

"How is she?" Katerina asked. "Tell me everything."

"She is fine," Brigette replied. "Considering the circumstances."

Katerina sighed in relief; she had been so worried ever since she had found out where Liliya was.

"Have Klaus hurt her?"

Brigette shook her head.

"No. In fact he almost seems to be fond of her."

"What?" Katerina asked disbelievingly.

"Yes, she is some kind of pet to him and I have taught her how to use that position. It is actually a good thing that all the smart vampires are afraid of Klaus, most of them would not dare to touch his pet."

Her choice of words made Katerina tense.

"What do you mean most of them?"

Brigette looked at her calmly.

"There was an incident last night, one of Klaus' guests harassed her, but she handled him."

"How?"

Brigette smiled.

"She stabbed him on the neck with a vervain dagger."

Katerina's eyes widened.

"Liliya did that? Little Liliya?"

"Yes, she is definitely a fast learner; I believe you would be proud."

"Yes…" Katerina murmured. She definitely was proud, but at the same time she felt guilty for putting her sister in that situation in the first place. Liliya had been 12 when Katerina had last seen her, just a child. Now she had been Klaus' captive for almost a year, how had that change her? Katerina wondered if she would still recognize her baby sister.

"Can you get her out?" she asked tensely.

Brigette shook her head.

"No, she can not leave, Klaus have compelled her. She can take walks in the garden, but that is it, she can not go any further."

Katerina bit her bottom lip.

"Do you think that Klaus could undo that compulsion?"

"I doubt that, for some reason he wants to keep her close to him, he is watching her like a hawk."

Katerina tensed again.

"When you say keep her close to him…"

"No, no," Brigette said quickly. "He has not touched her."

Katerina was more than relieved; at least Klaus wasn't that kind of monster.

"Do you have any idea what he wants from her?"

Brigette shook her head.

"I wish that I would know, but unfortunately I don't. I have kept my eyes and ears open but I have not heard anything useful. Personally I find it hard to believe that someone like Klaus would simply want to keep her as a pet."

"Yes, I definitely agree," Katerina said. "He must have some other agenda…" Then the realization hit her. "Do you think that he…maybe he wants to use her as bait?"

Brigette looked thoughtful.

"Yes, I believe it's possible, perhaps he wants to draw you out."

Dammit… Katerina paced back and forth, trying to clear her thoughts. Maybe Liliya was in this mess because of her, but she couldn't turn herself in, she just couldn't. First of all, that wouldn't guarantee that Klaus would let Liliya go, in fact Katerina was sure that he wouldn't, and second of all, she really didn't want to die. Liliya wouldn't want that and if she would die, her sister would be all alone, she couldn't help her anymore. Maybe she couldn't help her much now, but at least she was doing something for her.

"Alright…" she murmured. "Klaus' compulsion… Other vampires can not undo it, correct?"

"I do not think so," Brigette replied. "According to my knowledge he is the strongest vampire there is, but perhaps his siblings could undo his compulsion."

"I doubt that will happen…" Katerina muttered biting her bottom lip. "Rebekah is completely loyal to him and Elijah… I do not think so."

"No, probably not, but perhaps his other brother could do it."

"His other brother?"

"Yes, Kol, he just arrived at the castle and he has shown interest towards Liliya."

Katerina stopped pacing and looked at her friend.

"What?"

"Yes, the only problem is that according to the rumors he is known for his cruelty and his unstable nature."

Katerina gasped.

"And he has shown interest towards Liliya?"

Brigette hesitated.

"I suppose it could be called that; he found out that she is on vervain and promised to keep her secret, but he demands her obedience in return, what ever that means."

"But he has not hurt Liliya?"

"No."

Katerina pondered this information for a moment, this was finally something useful.

"Do you think that he could be used?" she asked.

"That would be very risky," Brigette replied. "As I said, he is unstable."

Katerina crossed her arms over her chest and looked at her friend determinedly.

"You must teach Liliya how to seduce him."

For the first time Brigette seemed stunned, it took a moment before she managed to reply.

"Katerina, she is 14, she can not seduce anyone."

Her words startled Katerina, for a moment she had actually forgot how young her sister still was. But this was an opportunity they couldn't waste.

"I would do it myself if I could, but you know I can not go anywhere near that place or any of Klaus' relatives," she said tensely. "Can you do it?"

Brigette shook her head.

"The risk would be too high, that would not be smart. Even if I would sleep with him, I doubt that would help, he is too unpredictable."

Katerina rubbed her temples.

"Alright… Perhaps Liliya does not have to sleep with him in order to get his help. She should definitely be on good terms with him."

Brigette nodded.

"I agree, I already planned to tell her that. But she also needs to be careful, who knows how twisted he is."

Katerina clenched her fists, she hated that her sister had to be in this kind of situation with this kind of people. Liliya would have deserved a normal life, a nice man and a home of her own. The worst part was that she would have to stay in that place with Klaus and the others until Katerina would find a way to save her. Brigette touched her shoulder, apparently she noticed her distress.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, I am fine," Katerina replied callously. "Will you look after her for me?"

She nodded.

"Yes, I already promised that I would. I will do what I can for her."

"Thank you, my friend," Katerina said and hugged her tightly. "I will not forget this."

"You saved my life, this is the least I can do," Brigette replied. "Besides, I like your sister."

Katerina smiled.

"Yes, she is quite something. She is lucky to have you as her teacher, just like I was."

"My pleasure," Brigette said. "I believe that we women need to help each other."

Katerina definitely agreed, she had learned the hard way how cruel men could be and she would certainly never allow her heart to deceive her again. For now on she would be the one who would use men, not the other way around.

"Do you wish me to tell Liliya about you?" Brigette asked.

"No," Katerina replied immediately. "I mean, I would want her to know that I am here and I am looking for an opportunity to help her, but at this point it is better that she does not know anything about me."

Brigette nodded.

"Yes, you are probably right. She hopes that you are safe and happy, she has even named her doll after you."

Katerina smiled.

"She has a doll?"

"Yes, someone gave it to her months ago, she does not know who."

"Probably Klaus' idea of a joke," Katerina murmured. "But I am glad that she likes it."

Katerina felt that she wanted to give her something as well, so she removed the silver medallion on her neck and gave it to Brigette.

"Tell her that this is from you, I do not think it looks too expensive."

Brigette raised the torch and looked at the medallion. Sometimes Katerina still forgot that humans couldn't see in the dark like she could.

"I will make sure that she gets it," Brigette assured.

"Thank you. Please keep her safe."


	23. Authors note

**Authors note**

First of all, I'm sorry everyone who expected a new chapter, I've started it and I promise to finish it as soon as I can. There will be more Rebekah in that chapter. I've never write this kind of authors note, but now I have something to say.

To the person who put this on Quotev, I don't know if you are still reading this story, but as I said I'm not angry and I don't think that you meant any harm. I saw that you corrected some of my grammar mistakes and I liked the girl you portrayed as Liliya. I would really like to talk with you, so it would be great if you would send me a PM.

Then to the person who has copied the story on this site, I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you hope to accomplish. Let me know if you want to talk.

That's all, thank you.


	24. Playing with fire

**First of all, thank you everyone for your reviews, favs and alerts :) And thank you Brienne Mikaelson for contacting me, everything worked out and she has now my permission to re-publish this story on Quotev. As I said, I really liked the girl she portrait as Liliya, that's her on the story cover, an actress Hailee Steinfeld. I think I would like to keep her as Liliya, what do you readers think? And finally, I'm sorry about the Rebekah scene, it didn't really fit in this chapter, but it will be in the next one.**

**Chapter 22**

**Playing with fire**

"No, no, no! A violin is _sofisticato_ instrument, if you do not play it _molto_ well, do not play it at all!" Maestro Corelli shouted, his English always got worse when he was angry. Normally he was a calm man, but music was his passion and bad musicians made him furious. Unfortunately I had been too distracted this morning, I had trouble to concentrate on my lesson.

"Forgive me, Maestro," I murmured. "May I try again?"

He snorted and waved his hand, I took that as a yes. I really needed to concentrate, Klaus expected me to learn these things. Maestro Corelli was a famous musician and he didn't usually give private lessons, Klaus must have paid him a lot. I still couldn't understand why he was so interested in my education; I could already speak English pretty well and I could play violin for him and his friends when he wanted me to. Sometimes it was humiliating, but he could have made to do worse things.

As much as I tried to concentrate, I couldn't help but to think about his brother. Brigette had told me that according to the rumors he was unstable. Yes, I could definitely agree, what kind of sane person would kill someone in order to make me to talk about my paintings. The whole conversation hadn't made any sense, why would he care about my dreams. And then there was the most important question, what did he want from me? I pressed my lips together and tried to concentrate on playing, dealing with Klaus would have been more than enough.

I still hated him, but I had learned somehow to understand how his mind worked and what to expect from him. He was cruel, but he didn't hurt me unless I gave him a reason. If he would find out about the vervain, he would most definitely hurt me, but that was a risk I had been willing to take. Maybe I couldn't do much in order to defend myself from demons, but I didn't want them to tamper with my mind. Brigette had said that the small amount of vervain she put in my tea every morning shouldn't draw anyone's attention, but I didn't know that for sure yet, Klaus hadn't tried to compel me after I started taking it. Arnault hadn't noticed anything during his attempt to compel me, but that didn't mean that Klaus wouldn't either.

"A little better," Maestro Corelli huffed after I was finished.

That was like a huge compliment coming from him, he certainly didn't praise anyone who wasn't extremely talented, which I wasn't. I had learned how to play because I have had to, but music wasn't my passion, not like painting.

"Good morning, Maestro," Klaus' voice said from the door. "How is my little sparrow doing?"

Maestro Corelli seemed tense; obviously he wasn't going to say what he really thought.

"The young lady is talented, my lord," he replied rigidly.

Klaus smiled and moved on the sofa.

"Show me," he demanded.

I gritted my teeth, but I managed to keep my smile on. Once again I placed the violin on my collar bone and held it in place with my jaw. My fingers moved the bow automatically; the melody was already familiar to me. Still I made at least two mistakes and judging by Maestro Corelli's expression, he certainly noticed that. Fortunately Klaus didn't seem to care, if he even noticed.

"Very good, sweetheart," he said. "I believe that you are ready."

My fingers stopped moving.

"Ready for what…master?" I added just in case.

"For my special guests," he replied smiling. "Elijah will be back tomorrow with some very important people from the court and I want you to play for them."

From the court? I wanted to ask were these people actually _people_ or demons, but that certainly wouldn't be smart. Sometimes Klaus hosted celebrations for humans, some lords and wealthy landowners, but those celebrations weren't so different than the ones he hosted for demons, except that no one was killed, at least I didn't think so.

"Elijah will be back?" I asked.

"Yes, I believe he can continue your lessons, if he has time."

I really hoped so; I liked him much more than my current English teacher. Maestro Corelli seemed impatient; clearly he thought that we were wasting his valuable time.

"Shall I continue the lesson, my lord?" he asked coolly.

Klaus frowned; apparently he didn't appreciate my teacher's tone.

"No, I believe she has practiced enough for a one day."

"Alright," Maestro Corelli muttered gloomily. "Excuse me."

Klaus rolled his eyes after the maestro had marched out.

"If he would not be a musical genius…"

He didn't finish his sentence, but I could guess the rest.

"May I go to the stables?" I asked. I really wanted to see that Daniel was alright after what had happened yesterday. Kol had compelled him to forget everything what had happened in his chamber, but other than that he had seemed fine. Klaus smiled, for some reason he didn't usually mind me spending time at the stables.

"Of course, have fun with…the horses."

"Thank you," I murmured and headed to the door, but Kol blocked my way.

"Well, good morning," he said cheerfully. "I hope you are ready for the big day."

I looked at him cautiously.

"Pardon?"

He grinned.

"My portrait, I thought we should start today."

"You want her to paint your portrait?" Klaus asked sharply.

Kol turned to look at his brother.

"Yes, after I saw how talented she is. Surely you do not mind?"

Klaus pressed his lips together and looked at me.

"She is quite busy with her lessons, I am not sure if I want to strain her…"

"She is painting Geoffrey's portrait," Kol pointed out. "And besides, without me, she might not be doing anything anymore."

Klaus sighed.

"What do you think, sweetheart? You may speak freely."

I doubted that, I really didn't have much choice.

"I do not mind painting your brother's portrait, master," I lied. "I am grateful for his help."

Kol grinned; obviously he was pleased with me.

"Why, thank you, darling and you are welcome," he said and kissed my hand. Somehow I managed to fight my urge to yank my hand away.

"Hmm, I suppose that is fine then," Klaus said. "But she can not start right now; she is on her way to the stables."

"Really? What a shame," Kol said casually, but the true meaning of his words was very clear.

"Actually, I could start right now," I forced myself to say. "The light is good and…It should not be wasted."

Kol smiled.

"Well, morning light does compliment my skin. But then again, I look good in any light."

"No doubt, my lord," I murmured tensely. Bastard.

"Always so modest, brother," Klaus huffed.

Kol shrugged.

"Someone as handsome as me has no reason to be modest."

Klaus seemed amused.

"If you say so. And to be clear, I expect you to behave like a gentleman when you are with my girl, no vulgar comments; otherwise I would be very upset."

"Of course, brother," Kol replied innocently. "Shall we go then, little lady?"

I placed the smile on my face and followed him.

"All my things are in my chamber…" I started.

"No problem, we can go and get them," he replied considerately.

"Sure…"

I didn't want him anywhere near my chamber but I really didn't have much choice.

"I knew that you are a smart girl," he said casually when we walked across the hallway. "Keep up the good work."

I clenched my fists; I would have wanted to be with Daniel right now.

"Why…" I started but I swallowed the rest of my sentence.

He smiled.

"Again, very smart."

I didn't say anything else; I would have probably said something I would have regretted. Brigette had advised me to be on good terms with him, but I wasn't sure how. This was probably just some kind of fun game for him; it was possible that he would break all his promises after getting bored to play with me. But right now I had to do what I could in order to protect Daniel from him. And myself from Klaus. Tensely I opened the door to my chamber; Brigette was placing some of my gowns in the chest. She was about to say something, but then she noticed Kol and curtsied.

"My lord."

"You can go," Kol said to her carelessly.

She kept her face free from emotions and looked at me; I tried to silently tell her that I would be alright. At least I hoped so. Not that it mattered, she couldn't start arguing with Kol. Calmly she walked out, but didn't close the door. Kol did that right after she was gone and looked around in my chamber.

"Well, this is nice."

"Yes," I replied rigidly. "My master is very generous."

He ran his fingers over the small table next to my bed and picked up my doll.

"Hmm, he certainly is. Why is that?"

"He is a kind and noble man…" I started, but Kol's laughter interrupted me.

"Oh please, we both know that is a lie," he chuckled and turned to look at me, he was still holding Katerina. "What are you giving him in return?"

His tone of voice was piercing and I certainly didn't like his question.

"Nothing," I replied coldly. "I play for his guests when he wants me to and I paint, that is all."

He gazed at me intensively, like he would have been sure that I was lying.

"How often does he drink your blood?"

My eyes widened in surprise.

"What? He does not drink my blood."

He looked at me coldly and threw Katerina on my bed.

"How many times do I have to tell you what will happen if you lie to me…"

"I am not lying," I snapped. "He does not drink my blood, he never has."

Kol was quiet for a while, looking at me thoughtfully.

"You are telling the truth…Interesting…"

I rolled my eyes, what was so interesting about it?

"Maybe we should get started," I muttered. "Where do you want to do this?"

He grinned and sat down on my bed.

"Here is fine. So, how do you want me?"

Dead.

"How ever you feel comfortable, you will have to hold still for a while."

"No problem," he replied cheerfully. "Which one do you think is my better side? I mean, of course they are both good, but which one is better?"

"I wouldn't know, my lord," I muttered and moved my easel closer to the bed. "I need a moment to get ready."

"By all means, darling, take your time."

He actually lied down on my bed when I started to mix my paints. Honestly? Somehow I managed to suppress my angry protest; apparently he was really making himself comfortable.

"You seem a little old for playing with dolls," he stated and picked up Katerina again.

I didn't say anything, I concentrated on my paints.

"Hmm or perhaps I am wrong…"

He started to throw Katerina up in the air, higher and higher.

"Stop that," I finally snapped.

He grinned.

"What, this?" he asked innocently and threw her near the ceiling.

"Stop," I demanded again and marched next to the bed. "Leave her alone."

His eyes widened before he burst into laughter.

"Her? How sweet."

I tried to catch my doll when he threw it towards the ceiling, but he got up to a sitting position and caught it first.

"You want this?" he asked teasingly. "Do you?"

"How old are you again?" I snapped and tried to grab Katerina, but Kol moved to the other end of my bed.

"Come on, darling," he said with an annoying smirk. "You want this?"

I glared at him and turned away.

"Keep it."

"Oh, someone is a quitter," he chuckled. "Quitter, quitter…"

I should have definitely just walk away, but something snapped, I jumped on the bed and attacked him. He was still laughing when I grabbed his hand and tried to take my doll.

"That's more like it."

"Give it back!" I shouted angrily and tried to yank it from his hand.

"No, I don't think so," he replied arrogantly. "You will have to…"

I had no idea what came into me, but before I realized what I was doing, I bit his hand so hard that I broke his skin. He looked stunned, then his eyes darkened. Oh no… He threw Katerina on the floor and pushed me roughly on my back, pinning my wrists above my head.

"You like it rough, do you?" he growled.

"I am sorry, I did not mean to…"

I couldn't continue when the black veins appeared under his eyes.

"No, please!"

He leaned towards me; his fangs already touched my skin when he suddenly stopped.

"Shit…" he murmured and jumped to his feet. He had stormed out before I even managed to blink. It took a moment before I managed to move. What had just happened?


	25. Know your enemy

**Thank you for all of your comments, Liliya is 14 now. There's a picture of Daniel, Brigette, Liliya's dress and the medallion on my profile page :)**

**Chapter 23**

**Know your enemy**

Kol didn't slow down before he reached the staircase, but still he wanted to turn around and finish what he had started. Dammit, dammit, dammit! Damn girl had almost made him to… What would have happened if he would have fed on her again? Nothing good, that was for sure. First of all, there was vervain in her system and second of all, he would have rather chopped off his arm than made their blood bond any stronger than it already was.

The echoes barely bothered him at all anymore and he definitely wanted to keep it like that. Why the hell had the girl bit him? Kol gritted his teeth; he needed a drink and fast. That wasn't the only thing what he needed… The realization startled him, why the hell was his body reacting like this? It couldn't be because of her, she was a child for heaven's sake, she played with dolls. The blood bond. Oh great…

But if just her bite had caused this, what might the real thing be like? Perhaps Marcin hadn't been so wrong after all, this was definitely something he wanted to try. Damn her for being so young, he had always hated waiting. But judging by this little experience, having her might actually be worth the wait.

* * *

"You must be more careful," Brigette scolded, but her tone wasn't as harsh as it should have been, considering how stupid I had been. She was sitting on the bed next to me.

"I know," I murmured. "I…have no idea what came into me…"

She sighed and touched my shoulder.

"I understand you have a lot to deal with, but I can not stress you enough how dangerous these creatures are, you must never forget it, not even for a second."

I bowed my head and nodded.

"Yes, I know." I hesitated a moment before looking up. "What do you think I should do now?"

She bit her bottom lip, looking thoughtful.

"Well, I think you should fix this as soon as possible, but perhaps you should wait until he approaches you."

I shivered.

"What should I say to him then?"

"Keep apologizing, assure him that it was an accident, you did not mean it."

I nodded, but there was still something that bothered me.

"Why do you think that he stopped before he bit me?"

Brigette was quiet for a brief moment before answering.

"I am not sure, perhaps because you belong to Klaus."

"That did not stop him before," I pointed out.

Brigette frowned.

"I almost forgot that… No, wait, it must be because of the vervain, I doubt that even someone as strong as him would want to drink it."

"Oh…That makes perfect sense; especially since he asked how often Klaus drinks my blood."

"Yes, perhaps he wondered how his brother hasn't noticed anything… However, since we are dealing with someone who apparently is unstable, we can not assume anything."

I nodded.

"Yes, you are right. Perhaps I should try to find out something more about him."

Brigette looked surprised.

"How are you planning to do that?"

I hadn't really thought about that, but suddenly the answer was clear.

"I will go to Rebekah, perhaps she can tell me something. We have not really talked much, but she has always been kind towards me."

Brigette nodded approvingly.

"Good thinking, I like that."

I smiled.

"I learned from the best. You told me once that one should know her enemy."

For the first time since I had met Brigette, she laughed. Her laughter sounded piercing and a little strange, like she wouldn't have known how it should sound like, but I liked it, I hoped that she would laugh more often.

"Very good. Oh, I have forgotten, I have something for you," she said and stood up.

I looked at her curiously when she opened the chest beside the bed and picked up something. It was a beautiful necklace, a medallion.

"This is for you," she said smiling.

I swallowed.

"For me? But…why?"

"I want you to have it," she replied and motioned me to turn around. I obeyed and she placed the necklace on me.

"There," she said and touched my hair. "Perfect."

I looked at my reflection in the mirror; the medallion looked perfect with my simple pale purple dress. It was my favorite dress for everyday use.

"Thank you so much," I said and hugged Brigette. "You really did not have to, was this expensive…"

"No, no, it was not. I hope it brings you luck and helps you to remember that you are not alone, someone is always watching over you."

I smiled, she was so sweet. I definitely wanted to give her something in return.

"I do not know how I can ever repay you for everything you have done for me…"

"There is no need," she interrupted me. "I am happy that I have been able to help. Now go and get some information, you remember what I told you…"

"Knowledge is power," I finished.

She smiled.

"Indeed it is and power is a key for survival. Get them before they will get you. The only useful thing I ever learned from my mother."

The bitterness in her voice was barely noticeable, but I picked it up. She had never talked about her mother, but I had read between the lines that her life hadn't been easy.

"Thank you," I said sincerely and squished her hand.

She gave me a nod and turned back to the chest. I headed to the hallway, wondering where Rebekah might be. Fortunately I ran into one of her chambermaids who informed me that she was having a massage. What was a massage? I hesitated before knocking the door of the big bath chamber, I never used it myself. There was this huge bathtub made of marble, it was so big that a person could swim in it. Klaus had mentioned once that people have had that kind of big bathtubs in the spas of ancient Rome; that was where he had got the idea from. I almost startled when the door suddenly opened, a young male servant was standing in front of me.

"Can I help you, my lady?" he asked.

"I am looking for lady Rebekah…"

"Come in," Rebekah's voice said from inside. The servant stepped aside, allowing me to enter the room. My eyes widened when I saw Rebekah, she was lying on her stomach on a sofa, there was only a small cloth covering her waist, her upper body and her legs were completely exposed. But that wasn't the weirdest part, there was two male servants touching her, other one was rubbing her back, the other her feet. There were candles burning around the room and the big bathtub was full of rose petals. Rebekah's eyes were closed; it took a moment before she opened them.

"What can I do for you?" she asked.

I tried desperately to remember why I had come here; the whole thing had confused me. Rebekah smiled, apparently she noticed my confusion.

"Come on, surely you know what a massage is?"

I shook my head.

"No, I am sorry."

She raised her eyebrows.

"Well, perhaps you should try it then. Take a seat."

I tensed; I definitely didn't want any strange men to touch me.

"Thank you, but I really…"

"You do not have to take your clothes off if you do not want to," she interrupted me. "Take a seat."

I still had my doubts, but cautiously I sat down on the other sofa opposite her. Clearly the room was meant for many people; sometimes Klaus' guests used it.

"Simon, would you be so kind and take care of Liliya," Rebekah said to the man who was rubbing her feet. He was maybe in his early twenties, tall and muscular.

"Relax," she added before I managed to protest. "You are in good hands, he has magic fingers. Believe me; I know what I am talking about."

Simon gave me a charming smile and sat down in front of me. I looked at him cautiously when he placed my feet on his lap and removed my shoes.

"Relax, lovely lady," he said and pressed my sole with his thumbs.

"Ow!" I protested and tried to yank my foot away.

"Oh, so tense," he said. "Relax."

I looked at Rebekah, she seemed amused.

"It might feel strange at first, but after a moment you will love it," she assured. "Hmm, that actually goes for many things…"

I gritted my teeth and tried to endure, but surprisingly the pressing didn't feel so bad after a moment. Slowly I started to relax and leaned back on the sofa. Simon had strong fingers and he seemed to be very good at this massaging thing. I sighed and closed my eyes; I was enjoying myself more than I probably should have.

"Feels good, does it not?" Rebekah asked.

"Hmm…" I murmured. I felt completely relaxed; I had forgotten all my problems. That was until Rebekah spoke again.

"So, what did you want?"

For a moment I had no clue what she was talking about, then I remembered the reason why I had come here in the first place.

"I…I was wondering if I could ask your advice about something."

She raised her eyebrows.

"My advice? Well, go ahead."

I tried to choose my words carefully.

"I would like to ask you…about men."

She grinned.

"You certainly came to the right place. What do you want to know?"

I hesitated, was this really a good idea? Well, I couldn't back away now.

"I…Just some basic things, I would like to understand them better."

Rebekah's eyes widened before she burst into laughter.

"Well good luck with that."

"Oh? I just thought since you have three brothers…"

"Four actually," she interrupted me. "But that does not mean that I would understand them."

I bit my lip and glanced at Simon and the young man who was massaging Rebekah. She noticed my look and smiled.

"These two I do understand, they are my toys. Isn't that right, boys?"

"Yes, mistress," they said simultaneously.

I had no idea how to comment on that, I was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. I knew that Klaus had several mistresses, none of them lasted for long, but I had never heard that a woman could keep many lovers as well. But then again, she was a demon; it was so easy to forget that.

"You do not have a companion?" I blurted out before I managed to stop myself.

Rebakah's expression tensed.

"No, I do not. What would be the point when he would be as good as dead?"

"What do you mean?" I asked cautiously.

"Never mind," she snorted. "Now, back to your question, is there something specific you want to know?"

"Well… As I said, I have some trouble to understand men, like your brother for example."

Rebekah huffed.

"Yes well, Nik is what he is…"

"Actually I meant your other brother, Kol."

Rebekah looked at me intensely.

"Kol? Why should you understand him?" she asked sharply.

"No reason," I replied quickly. "I am sure you have heard that he saved me and I will paint his portrait. I just thought it would be nice to know some suitable topics to talk about, you know painting takes some time. Does he have any special interests or…"

"Yes," she interrupted me callously. "He enjoys tormenting people."

"Oh…" I muttered. "That's…probably something I will not talk about."

Rebekah smiled.

"Look, Kol is my brother and I love him, but he is also a dick, pardon my language. My advice to you is to stay as far away from him as possible."

I swallowed, I would have really wanted to be able to stay away from him, but unfortunately that wasn't an option.

"Thank you for your advice," I muttered.

"Sure. Is there something else? If not, I believe I will take my bath now."

Simon and the other man stood up and started to undress.

"Hey!" Rebekah snapped. "There is a child here!"

They both looked a little confused but they stopped, apparently waiting for Rebekah's new order. She got up to a sitting position and stretched her arms; it seemed that her nakedness didn't bother her.

"Is there something else?" she asked.

I shook my head and tried to keep my eyes on the floor.

"No. Thank you for your time."

"No problem."

I stood up, picked up my shoes and walked to the door. I wasn't really sure if that had been useful or not, but despite of everything, I felt less stressed now. That was just weird.


End file.
